


Triangles

by AwesomeFox99 (KhaosKyuubi), Gameguy1992, Memoryweaver1



Category: Zootopia
Genre: Angst, Bisexual Male Character, Bisexuality, Drug Use, F/F, F/M, Gay Sex, Hurt/Comfort, Interspecies Relationship(s), Interspecies Sex, Jealousy, Love Triangles, Multi, Past Drug Addiction, Secret Relationship, uncertanty
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-10
Updated: 2020-01-30
Packaged: 2020-02-29 15:12:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 54,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18780814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KhaosKyuubi/pseuds/AwesomeFox99, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gameguy1992/pseuds/Gameguy1992, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Memoryweaver1/pseuds/Memoryweaver1
Summary: In geometry the triangle is one of the strongest and least flexible shapes. Nick Wilde has always been flexible. It's one of the things that made him such an effective con-mammal. But that flexibility goes deeper than most might think and certainly deeper than Nick lets on. And just as a triangle struggles to flex and bend so to do others. Now Nick finds himself caught in the middle and for the first time his flexibility may be a hindrance more than a help. Will Nick bend and flex as he's always done? or will he finally reach his breaking point and snap?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A while ago i stumbled across a few stories with the Jack/Nick pairing  
> and while i do enjoy them i am a wilde/hopps fan too.
> 
> thus this story was born.  
> it will not be one of my main stories, but instead a side story i will write in from time to time when i need a break.  
> but nevertheless i hope you all enjoy it.

Anxiously Nick waited at the train station, glancing around at the crowds in the hopes that they would distract him until the train he was waiting for came in. He was excited. How could he not be? It had been… almost a year now? Yes just a little over actually since he'd seen Jack. The silver and black striped rabbit was always running off, sometimes at the worst of times because his job demanded it. Of course Nick knew better than to protest.When they'd first met Jack had warned him that his job was absolute. He wasn't able to call in sick or say he didn't want to go. When he got a call he HAD to go, no matter what. That had led to some awkward moments where he and Jack would be out at a restaurant or at a movie and suddenly Jack would jump up, say a hasty “sorry!" Before dashing out. That's how it had happened last time. He and Jack had gone to a bar and had had some... a lot of drinks. They'd both crashed at Nick's apartment but by the morning Nick had found himself alone, a hastily scribbled note on the counter telling him Jack had gotten a call and had to go.

Of course Nick knew better than to hold these absences against Jack. After all, when your boss is the government you either do what they say or they'll find someone who will and then get rid of you. Although Nick would never admit to suspecting who Jack's employer was. He was pretty sure if he did Jack would have no choice to kill him and bury him in some unmarked grave where no one would find his corpse. And that was if he was lucky, the ZIA probably had a very strict policy about people knowing who their operatives were. So Nick played along, nodding and smiling whenever Jack would tell him about his latest trip to some random country as part of his job as a Private Banker for wealthy mammals and corporations.

The sound of a chime broke him from his thoughts, making him blink as a cool female voice spoke aloud. “The 7:43pm Manehatten train will be arriving shortly. Please clear platform B."

Suddenly his heartbeat jumped, his tail swaying a few times before he made it stop. Indeed just as the voice had said he could hear the sound of the approaching train and sure enough another minute later it appeared. He watched as the massive yellow and orange train came to a stop at it's platform, dozens of people moving in to greet those getting off. He scanned the doors, looking at the labels above each one. Jack had said he was in car D. Finding the right car Nick moved, making his way through the crowd and towards-

“Jack!"

The silver and black striped rabbit looked in his direction, his eyes widening as they fell on the rapidly approaching red and brown fox. He rushed forward, his arms wrapping around the rabbit's shoulders before lifting him off the ground in a tight hug. He could hear a few people mumbling, no doubt shocked that a predator and a prey could be so close. ' _watch this.'_

A moment later his and Jack's lips connected in a soft and sweet kiss. The world seemed to fall away around them. He felt Jack move, his paws and arms coming to rest around Nick's neck while a soft moan made his chest vibrate slightly. Teasingly Nick ran his tongue along Jack's lips, smiling as he felt the rabbit shiver slightly. After several seconds they broke apart, both of them inhaling softly. “Welcome back."

Jack grinned at him. “GREAT to be back.”

They stayed like that for a moment more, enjoying the closeness the embrace gave them. Then after a few seconds Nick set Jack down, watching as the rabbit smiled up at him. “Your place? Or mine?"

Nick grinned. “Mine. Definitely.”

Jack chuckled falling in next to Nick as-

"You two should be ashamed of yourselves. Predator and prey touching in such a way and gay to boot? Why back in my day-”

Nick rolled his eyes at the older wolf who had marched up to them and was now glaring holes in them. He was used to this. The first few times it had happened it bugged him. But now he didn't even blink as the old wolf insulted him and Jack and told them they would both go to hell and burn for eternity and blah blah blah blah.

“Ma'am." Jack's voice was calm but firm as he spoke. “If you would be so kind as to move I have had a very long trip and would very much like to get home. So if you would kindly shut the fuck up and leave us the hell alone that would be great.”

Nick chuckled as the old wolf spluttered at Jack's words. Deciding to add his own fuel to the fire Nick reached down, taking Jack's paw into his own before speaking in a wontonky feminine tone. “Oh Jack you're so aggressive and manly. I've missed you so much. Let's go home so I can feel you under my tail, it's been so long and hearing you be tough… mmmmm I need you NOW.”

It took all of his self control to not burst out laughing at the shade of red the wolf's ears turned. Whether it was anger or embarrassment Nick didn't know or really care. He did grin at Jack who grinned back as the wolf spluttered and choked on her words, her eyes wide as they sidestepped her and left the platform.

As they headed for the parking lot and Nick's car Jack spoke. “Still as wicked as ever I see."

He grinned. "you have no idea Tiger Fluff.”

The drive back to Nick's apartment was nice, the weather was warm and sunny, so they kept the windows down, allowing the wind to ruffle their fur as they drove. Jack spoke, retelling stories of how this time a company in Las Pegasus had wanted to do business with a large manufacturing conglomerate based out of Great Britain and that way why he'd had to run off in the middle of the night. “I'm really sorry for rushing out before. I wish I could have stayed."

It was an old line, one he'd used before. Nick smiled, leaning over to plant a gentle kiss against Jack's cheek. “It's ok Jack. I'm not mad. I know you can't say no to work." As they came to a stop at a light Nick looked over. "But I do have some pretty big news for you."

Jack looked at him with curiosity. “Oh?"

Nick nodded, reaching over and pulling open the glovebox. He really was excited for this, it was actually one of the things he was looking forward to most. Pulling out his police badge Nick handed the piece of metal to Jack as the light turned green. As the car began to move again Jack stared at it the badge running fingers over then words printed into the metal. After a few moments he spoke softly. “This… this is… your's?”

Nick nodded. “Yeah. Been on the force about three months now."

He watched as Jack looked sideways at him. “Congratulations! I'm so happy for you!" A second later the car swerved slightly as Jack half tackled him kissing his cheek again.  Playfully pushing the rabbit back over to his seat Nick grinned as Jack spoke again. “so OFFICER Wilde. Tell me, what's it like being a cop on these rough and tumble streets of our fair city. Have you peered into it's seedy underbelly and seen black wickedness staring back at you?”

Nick laughed. “dark and seedy underbelly?” Jack laughed from his seat the sound making Nick smile widely. "it's been an adjustment to be sure. I spent most of my time on the other side of the law. But… it's nice to be helping people. Feels good. And the steady paycheck is nice too.”

Jack chuckled and nodded. "I'll bet.” They continued to talk on the subject of Nick's new job for the rest of the drive. With Nick telling Jack about some of the older cases he and Judy had seen as well as about his fellow peers. As they pulled up to the apartment complex where he lived Nick watched as Jack frowned slightly. “I thought you lived a few blocks further over?"

Nick nodded and got out of the car. "thank the steady paycheck.”

Jack nodded and fell silent, allowing Nick to guide him up a set of stairs to the second level before slotting a key into the lock on the door marked 343. Pushing the door open Nick stepped in, allowing Jack to follow before closing the door. “Welcome to casa de ni-mmph!"

His words were cut off as Jack leapt at him, his arms going around his neck while his legs wrapped around his sides and his lips crushed themselves again Nick's it was like taking a breath of fresh air. Nick's body moved on it's own, his arms wrapping around Jack's hips while his mouth opened to accept the kiss. he moaned into it, the feeling of Jack's body against his making him shiver with anticipation. he grunted as he leaned forward, pinning Jack against the door as the kiss deepened. he felt Jack's mouth open to, their tongues coming out to rub and dance together for several moments. they broke apart only when their lungs begged for air; both of them gasping and panting when they did. hungrily Nick growled. “I am going to WRECK you."

Jack grinned at him. "Good.”

he pulled Jack away from the door, their lips connecting again as he arrived his lover through the apartment and to the bedroom. he broke the kiss and second later, growling as Jack playfully nibbled his lip as they pulled away. he dropped Jack a moment later, grinning as the rabbit yelped and flopped onto the bed. in a flash Nick pounced, springing up and on to the bed pinning Jack beneath him. he felt Jack's paws come up, running along his shirt and chest for a moment before drifting lower to the Hem of the shirt. Nick chuckled softly, burying his nose into the side of Jack's neck before inhaling a deep lungfull for his musk. “someone is impatient."

Jack whined softly, biting his lip as he felt Nick's teeth brushed against his his neck. “I just spend a year dealing with  some selfish jackass and his wants. YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW…” his words drifted off as Nick's own paw came up, slipping under his shirt to run along his stomach and chest, his claws prickling and teasing Jack's skin.

“Oh believe me, I do."

a moment later Nick moved, rolling off him and onto his back, his paws coming to rest behind his head while a smirk spread across his face. “I'm all yours."

Without an thinking or hesitating Jack clambered up, moving so he was straddling Nick's hips with his own. their rapidly growing arousals ground together, making them both groan softly as Jack continued to rub and move his hips softly. “say that again."

he leaning in as Nick smirked wider. “I said,” a shudder rippled through Jack as Nick leaned up, his nose coming up to press against the inside of one of his ears. “I'm all yours."

he inhaled sharply, the scent of Nick's sweaty musk filling his nose while his paws went to the buttons of Nick's shirt. gods he was almost shaking, he was so needy. his pants felt impossibly tight, like a prison for his arousal. but for the moment he could ignore that, a bigger need rushing through his mind as he slowly exposed more and more of Nick's chest and stomach. the moment Nick's shirt was unbuttoned his paws were on the fox, running through the thick fluffy chest fur noting how it was just as soft and warm as it had been over a year ago. For a moment he savored this feeling, pressing his nose into the fluff and inhaling again. Gods he smelled good.

Above him Nick chuckled, his soft touches tickling slightly. Part of him wanted to linger here. To keep running his paws through Nick's chest fluff while savoring the muscular rippling form underneath. Another part of him…

Gently he planted kisses along Nick's chest, slowly moving downwards to the Fox's stomach and abs. each kiss made Nick's muscles flex and ripple, sending a shiver up Jack's spine. the fox had always been fit, before it had been a kind of skinny fit. the kind a mammal got when they perhaps didn't eat as much as they should have been. but that had changed. now Nick was muscular fit; the police academy training honing and tightening his muscles and body to a beautiful degree. without hesitating his tongue came out, playfully lapping along the curve of Nick's abs. above him Nick chuckled softly. “like my new muscles?"

Jack's only response was-

Nick inhaled sharply as he felt Jack open his mouth, nipping gently at his stomach. “oh YES."

opening his mouth to respond Nick fell silent as she felt Jack's paw drifted lower, gently rubbing and massaging the bulge that had sprung up between Nick's legs. he squirmed a little as he felt Jack's paws moving, tugging the button open and unzipping his pants.

the smell was almost beyond words. it reached into him; made his tail twitch almost as much as his nose while his mouth almost started watering. this went beyond want, it was a need. and as much as he wished he could savor this and be romantic;a year of dangerous deep cover work had left him so pent up he couldn't stand it another second longer. his fingers hooked the edges of Nick's boxers, tugging them down until-

he pressed in, his nose going into overdrive; twitching and sniffing as he found himself drawn closer as if by and unseen force. he moaned softly as his tongue brushed against Nick's length. Nick mirrored the moan, his foxhood throbbing in appreciation of the contact. the sound of Nick's pleasure spurred him on, making him move in closer, his tongue lapping up the length of sensitive flesh while his paws went to Nick's bulb; massaging sensitive flare.

“J-j-ja-aaaah."

his words died in his throat, becoming a deep moan as he felt Jack's mouth move, going to the tip of his organ before slowly parting and working it's way down. he tried to keep his composure, to keep his breathing normal and to keep himself from tensing up. it proved to be futile; his breathing became ragged and his toes curled and uncurled in pleasure as Jack slowly began to move up and down aching his flesh. with a grunt he managed to move, shakily propping himself up on his elbows so he could watch as-

“MMMMMMM!"

he watched as Jack's head moved back down, slowly making his foxhood vanished back into the warm wet tight mouth that hungrily awaited it. he could feel Jack's tongue working, lapping along his length, swirling around his tip and licking his head before lowering his back down with a soft hum.

“o-o-oh… j-ja-ahhhhh!”

suddenly Jack's head went down, not just down but lower than it had gone so far; encasing his entire length in his mouth and throat. fireworks burst in front of Nick eyes, making the breath in his lungs explode into a deep shaking moan. _fu-fu-ohgods!_ He could feel Jack's throat tightening and clenching around his length making him clench his paws into fists as he felt his climax begin to build. he forced himself to breath, his head rolling back as Jack slowly began to build a rhythm, bobbing his head up and down along his length. he missed this, dear gods he'd missed this. he'd missed the striped bunny's touch. the way he moaned and whimpered softly as he went about his ministrations; the small vocalizations telling him that Jack was enjoying this as much as he was. he gasped sharply, his body tensing as a new sensation rushed through him, making the rapidly tightening knot in his stomach tighten a bit faster. “f-f-f-fuuuuck!"

the feeling of suction set his body on fire. his nerves itched and burned, his lungs aching as he tried to breath properly only to have the air forced from then in a sharp gasp. his organ throbbed and pulsed, achingly close to the release he so desperately…

he felt one of Jack's paws move, leaving his stomach where they'd been petting and stroking his fur and instead going to one of his paws, tugging it down and placing it on the top of his head firmly. with a great deal of effort Nick sat up, panting deeply as Jack's movement slowed, his gaze tilting up to look at him without ever removing the organ from his mouth. in a moment the silent please as sent between them; Nick understanding instantly what Jack wanted him to do. the paw Jack had moved flexed, his fingers spreading so they could pull Jack's ears slightly; tugging them into the tightened grip. “r-r-ready?"

it seemed a fair question to ask. below Jack nodded slightly, his lips puckering for a moment in a kind of mouthful kiss. Pausing for a moment Nick forced himself to take a deep breath. He knew Jack wanted this. The silver and black bunny loved this actually. But it still made Nick squirm a little with nerves, even if he was about to feel an almost blinding amount of pleasure. Exhaling softly Nick's grip on Jack's head and ears tightened, slowly dragging the rabbit back until just the tip of his foxhood was pressed against Jack's lips. in a single swift motion he pulled Jack's head forward, roughly forcing his organ back into the rabbit's waiting mouth. he did this again, pulling sharply at Jack's fur and ears only to roughly push him back down. he felt Jack's paws move, coming to grip and rest on his legs as he built up speed and force behind his grip.

the first time Jack had asked him to do this, it had made him so nervous. he didn't mind blowjobs. why would he? they felt amazing. but when Jack had asked him to be rough. to force his head up and down his length without and regards for how Jack might have felt; he'd been nervous. but that had been years ago; he was more confident now. he knew Jack's limits and Jack knew his. he groaned deeply, biting his lip as he forced Jack to move faster. a soft 'shlik’ sound coming from the rabbit's mouth as he was controlled. he changed his grip slightly, forcing Jack's head to tilt down slightly, making the top of his organ run along the roof of the rabbit's mouth with each thrust. THAT felt amazing, sending jolts of pleasure racing through him in a way few things could. he was panting now, his grip tightening reflexively on Jack's ears as he again speed up.

he didn't bother to try as stay quiet or muffle his sound anymore. a chorus of grunts and moans made his chest vibrate and rumble as his tongue came to and out the side of his mouth as he began to pant raggedly. fuuuuck, this felt good. his head rolled back, his eyes drifting closed as he felt the last of his worry slip away. Jack hadn't signalled him to stop and he was so….

he yanked on Jack's ears, slamming his entire length into the rabbit's mouth, making the top of his organ hit the back of Jack's throat with the force of the pull. a second later he forced Jack's head back, the feeling of suction from the movement making him moan again. he was getting close, the knot of pleasure in his stomach had grown tighter and not threatened to break if he continued much longer. “J-j-Jack." he'd learned a while ago that a heads up from him was appreciated. he didn't want to choke the bunny… to badly.

with a deep feral growling grunt it started, his paw shifted, slipping to the back of Jack's head before forcing the rabbit's head against his hips. unlike before, this time he didn't pull back. instead he ground his teeth together, feeling himself teeter on the very edge of orgasm as he felt Jack's warm breath tickling his fur. a second later he felt it, Jack's throat tightening and constricting, trying not to choke on the long warm length of fox meat that had been so unceremoniously forced into his mouth and down his throat. that was all it took to send him over the edge. the air in his lungs exploded out in a loud moan that felt like it shook the walls. he felt his foxhood swell and grow hotter for a split second before his climax began. his organ erupted in a stream of warm sticky seed. the first load quickly being followed by another then another and another and another. each load coating the back of Jack's throat before being swallowed by the hungry rabbit. his grip on the back of Jack's head was almost painful, every instinct in his body telling him to keep Jack's head here until the last drop had been swallowed. for his part Jack didn't seem to mind this at all. the rabbit's eyes had drifted a closed in a look of pleasure that almost looked as content as Nick's own. his paws still clenched fistfulls of Nick's fur but not in a way that told Nick he needed to stop and let him go.

 

Nick's chest heaved, his sides shook as he rode out his climax, the feeling of Jack's constricting and spamming throat only lengthening the pleasure even felt until he almost felt numb. with a deep rumbling growl he dragged Jack off his organ, the small rabbit actually letting out a soft whimper which Nick quickly silenced by crushing their lips together. he didn't wait for permission, his tongue forcing its way into Jack's mouth. a decadent almost forbidden shiver ran up his spine as he found he could taste a faint Trace of himself; a kind of salty musky flavor as his tongue claimed Jack's mouth. Jack's arms wrapped around his neck, pulling the booth deeper into the kiss until the absolute last second when they broke apart. he didn't say a way, instead staggering slightly to his feet while keeping his support on his lover. Jack's grip tightened, his legs again wrapping around Nick's hips as they had done the first time. a second later a new growl came from Nick; a deep aggressive almost feral growling as he felt Jack's small rabbit claws rake his back teasingly. the act only reinforced the urges rushing through him in that moment.

He staggered to his feet, pausing for a moment to steady himself before carrying Jack from the bedroom and into the bathroom. He half slammed the rabbit down on the vanity, his paws going to Jack's shirt. He growled at the small bunny. “Off. NOW."

His growl turned into an approving purr as Jack quickly pulled off his shirt. Instantly his paws were running through the rabbits short thick fur. It felt so good to touch him again. He'd always loved Jack's chest. For such a small mammal it was so strong and muscular. Even as his claws grazed his skin he felt the muscles ripple and flex as Jack squirmed under him. His paws drifted lower, going to Jack's stomach before-

This time it was Jack's turn to moan, the soft shuddering sound coming from his throat as Nick tugged at his pants. He felt Jack squirm, his hips lifting and shaking as Nick tugged and pulled his pants and boxers down. Before they'd even hit the floor he was back in Nick's arms a warm embrace. He shivered as their fur pressed together. For a moment, for a single beautiful moment he held himself against Nick. He missed this, this feeling of intimacy and connection. He'd spent the last year in a country where half the people probably wanted him dead. And the other half would have turned him in just so they themselves wouldn't get killed. The feeling of Nick against him, of the Fox's beautiful strong muscular chest against his. It was heaven, complete and utter he-

The feeling of warm water raining down on them made him rethink that last statement. THIS was heaven. Slowly he loosened his grip on Nick's body, allowing the fox to gently set him down so they were both standing together. He knew they weren't done, Nick's still rock hard organ and his own member would see to that. But for now the need had been sated slightly, enough so that the edge had been dulled. “I missed this."

Against him Nick nodded. "Me too.”

Jack watched as Nick moved away for a moment, grabbing the bottle of shampoo that sat on a small lip before sudsing up his paws. As Nick returned back leaned back, allowing his weight to press against Nick's stomach and chest as the fox's paws went to work.

“Mmmmmmmm." The feeling of Nick's paws rubbing and massaging his muscles as they worked the shampoo into his fur was probably the most relaxing thing he'd ever felt. He groaned softly, allowing his lover’s paws to wander along his head, neck and shoulders. The water was warm and soothed every ache and pain he'd felt for the last year. It felt amazing, like he could finally take a breath and just let himself relax. He leaned back against Nick's chest his head tilting up to look at the fox for a moment. “Hey..."

He watched as Nick looked down at him and grinned. "hey.”

Their lips met a move later, the soft gently warmth of the kiss making Jack feel as if he was wrapped in a blanket. One that smelled of fox. He groaned as he felt Nick start to pull away, his movements automatic as he stretched up to his tiptoes trying to keep the kiss going. Above him Nick chuckled. “Still so frisky.”

Jack grinned up at him. "You ha-aaaaah!”

His smug come back was interrupted as Nick suddenly pushed him forward, pinning Jack against the wall of the shower. behind him he felt Nick move, leaning in so his breath wafted across the back of his ear. “Sir, I'm afraid I'm going to have to search you. I suspect you're carrying a weapon of mass arousal.” he chuckled slightly at the bad joke, turning to say something only for Nick to reach up, his paw pushing Jack's head firmly but not painfully against the shower wall. “Sir, I'm going to ask you to keep your gaze forward until the search is over."

he groaned slightly, the sudden dominant grip Nick had him in making his organ only helping to stoke the fires of want inside him. behind him Nick moved, his free paw-

“mmmmmmmm." there was no holding back the money as he felt Nick's claws come out, prickling and teasing his skin as they left small stinging trails down his back. his tail twitched in anticipation as Nick's paw drifted lower and lower and lower until; “MMMMMMM!"

the feeling of Nick's paw on his tail, of his strong fingers firmly gripping and lifting it up made him shudder with excitement. he couldn't have been any harder than he already was. the feeling of Nick's thumb against his tailhole made him eat that last thought, his heart jumping several beats with excitement. “hiding anything in here sir?”

he chuckled softly, deciding to play along. “Maybe. you'll just have to do a cavity search to fi-aaaah."

his words ended abruptly as he felt Nick's thumb invade his body. instantly his insides reacted, clamping down and squeezing the invading digit in an attempt to stop it. but Nick ignored this, his thumb slipping deeper inside Jack's body. “remember when I said I'm going to WRECK you?" Jack nodded panting softly as feelings of pleasure rippled through his body. behind him Nick chuckled. “I lied. I'm going to DESTROY you. that's what you get for leaving in the middle of the night after ONLY a blowjob.” a second later Jack's yelped as he felt Nick's thumb vanish from his body only for that same paw to strike his butt a second later. “on your toes Savage. NOW."

he was practically putty in Nick's paws; the deep threatening growl mixing with the normal husky rumble. I reached into him, making him shiver as it tugged at some deep ancestral fear. he'd been tortured before, refused to do as he'd been ordered while he had his finger's broken. and yet a few words from Nick in that tone and he did EXACTLY as he'd been told, slowly lifting himself up till he was standing on the very tips of his toes. he groaned as he felt Nick shift, half feeling as if the fox was going to leave him like this. but that thought vanished as he felt something long, warm and hard come to rest against his butt. he bit his lip, his body almost aching from want and need. behind him Nick growled again. “if you're feet touch the floor before we're done, I'm going to make you blow me on the balcony where EVERYONE can see.”

the threat someone only made him needier, his body aching slightly as he lifted himself a tiny bit higher. behind him Nick chuckled, adjusting his position before-

the sound of their twin moans echoed around the shower; bouncing off the tile walls and reverberating back at them. Jack grunted as he felt the tip of Nick's organ slip inside him, again his body reacted; clamping down around the invading organ. the first few times he and Nick had been together Nick's size had taken a long time to adjust to. requiring them both to move slowly and then rest for several minutes once Nick was fully inside. but after several long marathon filled nights he'd learned ways to help him adjust faster. he forced himself to breath, inhaling deep lungfuls of air through his mouth before slowly exhaling through his nose. his paws moved on their own, slipping backwards to grip Nick's hips as a kind of signal. if things went to fast or he was in pain, he could signal and they would stop. not that he wanted this to stop. the feeling of his body being stretched and filled as more of Nick's foxhood slipped inside him was enough to make his legs wobble slightly.

behind him Nick grunted softly. “f-fuuuuuuuuck."

another inch slipped inside and Jack's arousal was becoming truly painful. is own organ was had as a rock; sticking straight up after having been neglected for more than a year. now pre was dripping from it's tip, as it throbbed and pulsed in anger from lack of attention. “n-ni-Nick…. p-pl-plee-please!” gods he sounded like a needy little virgin being fucked for the first time, but he couldn't help it. he NEEDED this bend words.

he felt Nick's paw leave his head, instead moving downwards before wrapping around Jack's needing length. as Nick's paw brushed along his length fireward burst in front of Jack's eyes making him gasp and shake. he gasped loudly as one of Nick's finger's brushed along his tip, gently swirling around it; sending bols of pleasure racing through his body and up his spine. for a moment his body pressed forward grinding his hips against Nick's, his insides relaxing for a moment as a result allowing Nick's organ to-

again the shower shook from the force of their moans. in single motion the remaining length of Nick's flesh vanished inside Jack's body; only the bulb at the base remaining outside. instantly Jack hissed, his insides again clamping down around Nick's length. he felt drunk, or stoned, or maybe insane. it didn't matter; he could be dead for all he knew. the feelings rushing through him we're a whirlwind of pleasure, pain, and lust all of them drowning in the thick warm musky smell of Nick's wet fur. he felt Nick move in slightly, his nose coming to press between Jack's ears in a nuzzle. “y-y-you… ok?”

Jack nodded almost frantically against the wall. ok? OK, didn't even begin to describe what he was feeling at the moment. his insides felt stuffed, completely and truly stuffed by Nick's warm throbbing length. his own length was leaking like crazy, the small movements in Nick's paw sending ripples of pleasure through his body. the feeling of Nick's body pressed against his, of being pinned there against the wall and at his Mercy was almost beyond words. then a new feeling, one that made his dad snapback automatically, his breath exploding into a ragged pant as he felt the back of his head press against Nick's shoulder. his grip on Nick's fur tightened, his legs wobbling almost violently as Nick's fingers slowly moved along his length, massaging and squeezing it teasingly. behind him Nick purred softly. “Awww, the little bunny is so pent up. how CUTE.”

Jack's closed his eyes, at the use if the word, his ears tingling slightly with embarrassment. he knew Nick was only using it to tease, a way to add that tiny bit more to everything else that was happening. and yet… “I-I'm n-not -cu-AHHHH!"

mid protest Nick moved, pulling his hips back before roughly pushing them forward again, burying his length back inside Jack's body. “what was that? did the cute little bunny say something?”

again his ears burned; he could practically hear the smirk in Nick's voice. all he could do was growl weakly, his words melting away as Nick again withdrew from his body while his paws rubbing and caressed along Jack's length. slowly they began to settle into a rhythm with Nick gently squeezing and rubbing his paw and fingers along Jack's length. in response Jack's hips would move forward, grinding into the touches while at the same time Nick slowly withdrew a ways from Jack's body. then Nick's grip would change, firmly tightening around Jack's length before roughly driving his hips forward and buying himself inside again. soon the shower was filled with the sounds of their grunts and moans.

for Jack it was an almost impossible feeling. he was so used to being in control. he had to be as part of his job. he had to be able to walk into any situation and instantly be able to seize control. and yet he was completely out of control now; his body moved on it's own, his hips thrusting and grinding against Nick's paw wantonly. he was pretty sure he'd already climaxed within the first few moments of thrusting. But in the sea of pleasure that was battering and assaulting his body and mind it didn't really see to matter.

Nick grunted, his hips speeding up their movements. fuck he'd forgotten how good this felt. he'd been with one or two other guys before, and yes that had felt good but Jack; gods Jack was on a whole other level. the rabbit's insides squeezed tightly around his length like a vice, making each thrust feel like a bomb exploding in his brain. the feeling of their bodies slapping together made him grit his teeth, his jaw actually popping from how tightly he was clenching it. he made sure to keep his paw moving, massaging, squeezing and rubbing up and down along Jack's length while occasionally running a ringer over the rabbit's tip. he'd cum a few minutes ago, his organ swelling and growing hotter before releasing it's pent up seed all over the shower wall. but that had just spurred him on, making him want to see how many more efficient could coax out of the bunny before his own climax hit him.

he could feel his control starting to sleep, the feelings of pleasure racing through his body making his hips speeding up again. gods how could anything feel this good? at some point one of Jack's ears had wound up in his mouth, making him bite down on it; earning himself a loud cry from his lover. he drove himself into Jack's body, making the rabbit cry out as their body slammed against each other all feelings of romance and affection gone; replaced by sheer lust and need. with a growl he pushed Jack forward, pinning the small rabbit against the shower wall before pulling him up of the floor. he heard Jack yelp but ignored it, his brain stead focusing on the way Jack's insides tightened at the sudden change in position. he growled into Jack's ears, the new position allowing him to drive into Jack with more feriocity than before.

fuck he was close, so sooo close. part of him considered slowing down, making this last longer; really work Jack over and make him pay for leaving in the middle of the night. that part of him was not in control though, the part that was desperate and horny and wanted to fill Jack with his seed was. that part of him drove him to move faster, their bodies roughly slamming together several more times a the ball of fire in his stomach grew hotter and hotter and hotter until-

with Savage almost feral growling he crushed Jack against the wall of the shower his entire length slipping up to the bulb inside Jack before that too vanished. instantly Jack's insides clamped down around him, quivering and spasming and providing him the very last push he needed to topple over the edge. he pressed forward, burning himself as deep as he could possibly get inside Jack's body, feeling him quivering and shake in response. and then suddenly it all vanished. everything that didn't involve him or beautifully impossibly tight warm hole his organ was currently jammed inside simply faded away. he purred  loudly as he felt Jack's body respond, the rabbit's head pressing against his shoulder as the first few splashes of seed entered his body. he kept his paw movie, pumping and polishing Jack's length while savoring the way it made the rabbit's insides clench and twist.

time melted away from them, the only marker of it's passing when he felt his bub begin to tingle and itch. groaning weakly Nick withdrew, his length a bit; shivering as the base of his organ began to expand a few moments later. he was panting now, his arms shook with the effort to hold Jack up and his heart felt like it was going to explode out of his chest. against the wall Jack seemed to be feeling the same way. weakly he pulled Jack against his chest, slowly turning so his own back was against the wall before sliding down it until he was sitting on the shower floor under the torrent of water. against his chest Nick heard Jack speak weakly. “m-m-my feet… didn't touch… the g-ground.”

he chuckled softly at the rabbit's words. “I'll take that into consideration while we're on the balcony tomorrow.”

weakly they both laughed at that.

 

\-------

 

Judy Hopps groaned as she laid out on her bed. she was bored. not just bored, but bored and horn and lonely; the shitty trifecta. sighing to herself she rolled onto her side, her eyes flickering to the calendar next to her bed. today was the 12th, her eyes wandered down the line of days until they fell on the 22nd and the little note she'd made herself. HEAT STARTS

she groaned again, glaring at the calendar as if it was it's fault she was feeling this way. she hated this time of year. well, ok hate was a strong word. she…  disliked this time of year. everyday people made assumptions about her because of her species. That she must love carrots and lettuce. Tat she was cute. That she was a nympho. it drove her insane. most of the mammals at the precinct didn't do it anymore; at least not to her face. but this was one thing the stereotypes were pretty on the nose about. she wasn't a raging sex machine for 53 weeks out of the year. but for that one week…

“ugggg."

and it wasn't helping that she had a… special friend now. well, ok that would help 10 days from now. but right now…

her eyes wandered over to her phone. should she call him? no, that would make her sound desperate. maybe a text? _ugggg, you can't yiu dumb bunny. he said he was meeting an old friend tonight._ she knew that was true. he'd been very excited to meet the old friend. actually Nick had been practically giddy bouncing with each step he'd taken all day. it had been cute to see. vaguely she wondered who the friend was. she'd tried to ask questions, but all she'd managed to get out of here partner was that he was an old friend from when Nick had been younger.

sighing again Judy rolled onto her back so she was looking up at the ceiling. _I wonder if his friend would like to come over too?_

a moment later he eyes widened. had she really just…

*Ding*

the sound of her phone was a welcome distraction. she practically pounced on the device, flicking the screen to unlock it before reading the message she'd been sent.

Nick: wants 2 chk inon u. u ok?

she smiled at the message before typing out her response.

JUDY: Am ok, 4now.

a moment later he responded.

NICK: hang in ther.

she bit her lip, weighing weather or not to ask.

JUDY: r u still ok to… help me… in 10 days?

she waited for him to respond, her heart beating oddly fast as she watched the three little dots that meant he was responding.

Nick: yes. promised I wood.

she smiled at his response, a feeling of relief washing through her.

JUDY: thanks.


	2. Chapter 2

Nick Wilde had always prided himself on being flexible. it was one of the things that made him a great grifter and con mammal. the ability to adapt and roll with whatever bumps a con threw his way; that was what made him great at what he did. more than once that flexibility had saved him, allowing him to know when he needed to bluff or when to walk away or when to double down. sure it had been wrong sometimes but not usually.

But that flexibility had made his younger years difficult. he could remember growing up confused. while the other mammals in school had started to like males or females, he'd found both sexes attractive but in different ways. for females there was no denying their attractiveness. their curves, their slim figures, their hips, DEFINITELY their breasts. but their attraction was more than just physical. their nature was gentler, softer. they were less likely to punch you in the face. although when they did go off and became violent he learned to stay WELL enough away from them. there were a few girls in school who had caught his eye. some of them had been vixens, but not all of them. A black and white cat in his algebra class. a brown and white mouse he passed in the hallways. a silver and white wolf in gym class. they were attractive, certainly. he'd thought about them, fantasized about them a few times. normal high schooler thoughts; nothing out of the ordinary.

males; males were different, very different. they were still attractive. their broad shoulders, their chests and muscles, the way their fur was rougher and tougher. and their scent, their scents were truly unique; musky and strong with hints of sweat. More than once in the locker room he'd found his nose twitching and sniffing the air as one of his classmates walked by him. but just like women there was more to men than just their physical attraction. males were… simpler. they said what they meant, did what they wanted. and if something offended them they had it out, sometimes threw a few blows and then whatever had happened was over and done with.

this duel attraction had been complicated. it had caused him much confusion and uncertainty as he'd gone through school. so much so that he hadn't had any boyfriends or girlfriends during that time. And it wasn't until after he'd left school he'd started to explore his sexuality.

The first time he'd ever gone to a gay club he'd  been so nervous. his heart had been hammering in his chest, so much so that he'd been shaking. the bouncer, a long horned bull had nodded at him, allowing him to step inside the club and he'd almost chicken out. When he did go inside though it had been like stepping into an aliens world. lights and music, the smell of musk and sweat and definity other bodily fluids; all washed over him making him feel almost dizzy. he'd gone for the familiar, half staggering to the bar and ordering himself a drink, and another, and another. a few males came over to try to talk to him. they were… friendly. they wanted to know his name. did he come here often? did he want to dance? just normal things to ask a person at a nightclub. but their questioned had thrown him off his balance and he'd half run out of the club in a panic half expecting to be dragged back inside and pulled into some sex thing he couldn't even begin to imagine.

at the time he'd swore he'd never go back. that the club was to much. the music was too loud, the lights were to bright, the people were way WAY to nosey about him. he'd never go back there. that resolve lasted until the next weekend.

slowly he began to adjust to the new environment. he still got nervous when people talked to him, but he no longer turned into a stuttering stammering idiot. slowly he learned to keep his cool. keep his answers close enough to the truth so that he could keep them straight but different enough that he wasn't giving them anything they could use. sometimes if the male talking to him was obnoxious or overly flirty he'd use a fake name and number. sometimes he smiled at the idea of them dialing the number hopping for a hot hookup only to get the number for the pizza place around the corner from his house. other times he'd use his real name, but only if he liked the male he was talking to.

it had been on one of those nights where he'd been using his fake name that it had happened. he'd managed to slip away from a pair of rather flirty wolves, leaving them both on the far side of the club as he'd wormed and worked his way through the crowd. they'd been drunk, or high, or both, or maybe just really horny, or maybe all three. whatever the reason one of them had practically stuck their paw down his pants before they'd even said a word. and the other had used the corniest pick up lines he'd ever heard in his life. the conversation had been so bad that he'd left his drink back at the table, a small price to pay since he hadn't really been enjoying it anyways. but if he didn't want to be bothered by guys coming up to him in hopes of buying him a drink and then getting repaid he'd need to get another one, and fast.

he'd just managed to extricate himself from the dancing throbbing pulsing crowd of people on the dance floor when his eyes had fallen on him. Nick wasn't afraid to admit it, but he didn't just like predators. sure most of the males he found attractive were predators. tigers, leopards, of course foxes, even a mountain lion once. but prey could be attractive too. so it didn't come to him as a big deal when his eyes fell on the small dancing rabbit. the club catered to both predators and prey and there were certainly plenty of other prey around that night. no what had caught his eye was how the rabbit was dancing. most of the males in the club were drunk or very close to getting there; their movements sloppy and sluggish but made up for by enthusiasm. but the rabbits moves were smooth and precise. he'd paused, looking the rabbit up and down. as typical with most of the males here he wore a rather thin tank top, the black material looking attractive against his silver fur. the rabbits pants were typical jeans, but not the normal ripped and torn kind so many mammals wore. they were clean cut and tight, clearly having cost a little more than ordinary pairs. as the rabbit had danced he'd turned, slowly spinning where he stood allowing Nick to see his body, his back hips and butt coming into view. _Niiiice._

there was no denying the bunny was attractive, even the odd little dye job he'd worked into his fur worked; giving him a striped look that would have looked ridiculous on anyone else but looked very good on him. he'd stopped going to the bar now, instead he was standing there watching the rabbit. there was confidence in his movements. yes he was dancing in the crowd with others around, but he was also dancing on his own, his movements different from the others around him. it was like he was dancing for himself as much as for others. after several moments the rabbit turned again and was back to facing him. for a moment their eyes met. the rabbit smiled and blew him a kiss. playfully he caught it, accepting the unspoken invite before moving forward. “Mind if I join you?"

the rabbit chuckled and moved towards him, watching him for a moment before starting to dance again. “I'd have been sad if you didn't foxy."

that night had been different. normally when he danced he did so for one or two songs before growing tired and getting another drink or sitting down at a booth. but that night… something had been different. The way the rabbit had danced, it had drawn him in. The sway of his hips, the way he would occasionally look over his shoulder and Nick. It called to him, making him mirror the movements while moving in closer to the rabbit, until his paws eventually finding to way to the rabbit’s sides. They danced for hours stopping only when his legs had started to cramp, his fur was coated in sweat and his tongue was hanging out of his mouth. The rabbit smiled at him, noting how his legs were wobbling and he was panting. “Need to sit down?" He nodded, his legs shaking so badly that he almost collapsed. “Here, lean on me."

He blinked, finding that the rabbit had moved and was now helping to support him, slowly guiding him off the dance floor and towards an booth in the corner. Sinking into the booth Nick groaned, his legs aching and throbbing almost painfully so. Across from him the rabbit sat down too, watching him for a few moments before speaking. “Sorry. I… I got caught up in everything.”

Nick shook his head. "N-no. It's ok. I… I had fun."

The rabbit smiled. “I'm Jack."

For a moment Nick remained silent, trying to decide if he should give his real name or not. He hadn't given his real name so far tonight, he'd been using his standby of Tom. But…

“Nick."

Across from him Jack smiled. “Nice to meet you Nick. Sorry I almost danced you to death."

Nick chuckled, shaking his head. “I-its ok. It was fun.”

Jack nodded. “you're a good dancer.”

Nick felt his ears heat up slightly while his stomach did a small flip. “Th-thanks."

That's how it had started. To make up for what had happened Jack ordered them a round of drinks. They talked for a long while after that. Both of them sipping on their drinks and talking until the club was getting ready to close and they were forced to leave. Now standing in front of the club Nick blinked as he felt jack, push a small slip of paper into his paw. Looking down at it Nick blinked, finding Jack's phone number written on the scrap. “I like you Nick. I'd like to see you again sometime, if you're interested. But I don't wanna pressure you, so here's my number. Text me if you wanna meet up again sometime.”

 

\---------

 

That had been the first time he'd ever met Jack, but it sure hadn't been the last. He'd texted the rabbit a few days later and that night they'd gone back to the club. The first of many times. And now…

Nick shifted a little under the blankets, pressing his nose and muzzle against the top of Jack's head affectionately. He loved moments like these. The sun was rising outside, it's golden light starting to peek through the blinds making the curtain glow softly. It couldn't have later than 6am or so, and yet here he was. Curled up in a warm loving embrace with a mammal he carried for and who carried about him. “Someone is affectionate this morning."

Nick grinned at the sound of Jack's voice, his tail involuntarily twitching as the silver and black rabbit sleepily turned over so they were face each other before yawning widely. “How did you sleep?"

Jack shrugged, finally managing to stop his yawn after several moments. “Really good. Last night… fuck I needed that.”

Nick grinned and shifted, one of his paws coming to trail down Jack's chest lazily. “Yeah. Me too."

Jack cocked his head  grinning slightly. “What? No tail on the side? I thought you and that little sandy fox were butt buddies.”

For a moment nick was completely silent, what jack had said processing through his brain. Then he burst out laughing, his sides shaking as he imagined the expression finnick would give him if he ever tried anything like that. he grabbed Jack, pulling the rabbit in closer while playfully ruffling his ears. “me and Finnick? oh gods no! he's smaller than you are. I'd break him in half, plus he'd bite my face off.”

For his part Jack laughed too, struggling playfully against Nick's grip but still allowing him to pull him in close. “ok, so if not him than who? don't tell me you've been celibate for the last year.”

Nick snorted and shook his head. “No. but nothing regular and no one really worth mentioning.”

Jack rolled his eyes slightly. “you're not fun."

Nick grinned and opened his mouth to speak; but found himself cut off as the alarm on his phone began to beep and chime. “fuuuuck. time to go to work."

Jack looked at him, watching as Nick slowly sat up n the bed before stretching his arms widely. “can I come visit you? at work I mean. just like on your lunch break or something."

Nick blinked at him, a slight expression of surprise covering his face. "uh…"

Jack grinned playfully. it wasn't often he could trip up the fox; he'd have to enjoy this. “Pleeeeease? I'll be on my best to behavior. I promise I'll only ride your cock for 15 minutes in front of everyone.”

he expected Nick to laugh, that was the kind of joke they normally found pretty funny. but the todd didn't laugh. instead his ears flicked back uncomfortably as his eyes drifted down and to the side. after a few moments he spoke in a often and slightly ashamed voice. “uh… at work… they… they don't know… about me.”

Jack cocked his head, propping it up on his paw a moment later. he hadn't expected that. sure Nick wasn't a flamer, someone who pranced around and threw his seuality in others faces but… “No one?"

Nick shook his head. "No.”

Jack remained silent for a moment, feeling as if some kind of awkward weight had settled in the room. “can I ask why not?"

Nick sighed, his shoulders slumping. "it's not… it's not like I'm ashamed or anything. I just… these are my co-workers. we have to be able to work together in a crisis seamlessly. I… I don't want them to wonder if I'm checking them out in the shower or if I think about them when were off duty. Or wondering if an invite to go have drinks is something MORE. those kinda things could really screw with everything. So… I just never brought it up.”

Jack nodded. he could understand that. barely anyone at his work knew about his orientation. the female arctic fox Skye had figured it out. and one of the wolves down in ops planning knew; but that was pretty much it. Although he was sure some others suspected. reaching out he gently touched Nick's shoulder. “Ok. I won't go all gay lover on you. But… I'd still like to come see you at work. it's really cool that you're a cop now.”

Nick smiled and shifted, first turning to look at him before leaning down and putting a kiss between his ears. “I'd like that a lot. I can introduce you to Judy my partner. she'll be stunned I know another rabbit, I bet.”

Jack chuckled. “I'll be the gay friend from high school. That work?"

Nick grinned and nodded. "yeah.”

Laying back in bed jack watched Nick get to his feet before vanishing into the bathroom to get ready. with the fox gone he was alone, and now as he lay here in Nick's bed he began to mentally plan what he needed to do today. He needed to swing by his own apartment, change clothes, maybe go to a groomer today to get his fur touched up. But beyond that…

_I'm not ashamed or anything._

Those words echoed in his head. Why had nick said that? Sure what the fox had said was right. Officers did need to be able to work together without distraction. And the other points he'd made were true. And yet…

He closed his eyes, his mind drifting back to before, when he'd just met Nick. There was no denying the fox he'd met then had been… inexperienced. Not that that was a bad thing, but it was very clear he was uncertain of himself or how things worked. The poor fox had almost jumped out of his fur when Jack had casually mentioned going back to his apartment after a particularly vigorous night of dancing. It had taken several reassurances that they would just sleep and not being having sex before Nick had agreed. Of course jack had gotten a little teasing in. As a rabbit apartment the space was limited which meant they'd shared a bed and ended up spooning, to which he'd flicked his tail a few tails against the Fox's hips.

The next day though… actually the very next morning... they'd kissed. They'd awoken tangled in each other's limbs and somehow while trying to extract themselves had wound up tacoed together inside Jack's heavy blankets. And in that moment  wrapped together so tightly that it was hard not to press his face against the today chest… he'd taken the chance. He'd leaned up and given the young todd a small kiss on his jaw. He could still remember the look of surprise on Nick's face, the way his whiskers had poofed slightly and his ears had stood up. Later after they'd managed to free themselves from Jack's blankets Nick confessed that was the first time he'd kissed another male. He'd been going to the club for months, dancing and occasionally flirting… but never a kiss. _The first of many._

Sighing softly jack shifted, rolling over before swinging his legs over the side of the bed and sitting up. As he did so he felt his back pop and crack slightly. Uggg, he was getting old. He was almost 30 now, that was practically an old man in the spy game. He sighed again, running his paws through the fur on his head. Just a couple more years. Just a couple more years of risking his life, saving the world, exploding bikinis and tigers hanging from helicopters and then… what then? He glanced back in the direction of the bathroom at the sound of the shower turning off. Would… could this… possibly become more? He'd been pretty clear in the beginning with nick. They could be friends and fuck buddies but… nothing more. Nothing that would keep him from answering the call whenever he got it. He told everyone who even hinted that they liked him this, and up until the fox none of them had really believed him. A few of them had been broken hearted when he'd vanished in the middle of the night. Some had been furious and all of them had refused to speaking with him anymore. But Nick had been different. The fox had been young but he'd never become overly attached. He'd never asked him to stay when the call had come. He existed on his own. But…

Jack sighed again. There was no denying he liked the red fox. Over the last few years he'd found his thoughts turning to him more and more. During downtime on missions he'd wonder, what was Wilde doing? Was he with someone else? That thought made him… uncomfortable, a feeling of twisting jealousy writhing in his gut. It bothered him. The idea of Nick with another mammal; kissing, touching, snuggling together afterwards… it made him want to tear his fur out. Somehow without realizing it… he'd broken his own rules and become-

The sound of the bathroom door opening pulled him from his thoughts, making jack turn and watch as Nick stepped out. “Mmmmm." There was no denying Nick looked GOOD in his uniform. The blue shirt and pants did wonders for his red fur, making the shade pop and stand out more than ever. “Not bad."

Nick chuckled, grabbing his keys and wallet from the nightstand. “Thanks."

Jack grinned and moved, dropping down off the bed before moving to lean against the side of the bed. “Text me when you have lunch?"

Nick nodded, turning to smile at him. "sure. Can't wait.”

Jack nodded, slowly saddling forward to grip the end of Nick's tie and pull him down so they were level before planting a little peck against the Fox's cheek ruffle. “Have a great day."

Nick grinned down at him, his own coming out to grip Jack's ears. He groaned as Nick pulled, forcing his head to tilt back a little further before brushing their lips together in a tantalizing quick kiss. “You too."

Panting softly he watched as Nick left, half jogging from the bedroom followed by the sound of the front door closing a moment later.

 

\-----------

 

Nick Wilde was in a good mood; no scratch that, a VERY good mood. The drive to work seemed to fly by, the radio playing several of his favorite songs which he sang (badly) along to as he drove. He felt great, like some part of him that he'd had tensed up for months had finally relaxed. maybe in some way that's exactly what had happened. Parking his car in the ZPD garage he practically skipped to the elevator before riding it up and stepping out and into the precinct. He was a few minutes early according to his watch, a rare occurrence. Making his way through the building he smiled and nodded, greeting several of his fellow officers as they said their good mornings. “Oh my, you're in an awful chipper mood today Nick." The bubble and slightly effeminate voice of the front desk cheetah Benjamin clawhauser made Nick smile as he turned to spy the larger cheetah emerging from the breakroom.

“I had a great night last night. Met up with an old friend I haven't seen in ages.”

Clawhauser grinned. "Friend or 'friend’?"

Nick shrugged slyly. “Who knows."

Clawhauser chuckled. “Well either way, glad you had a good time. See you later."

Nick nodded letting the cheetah cross in front of him before continuing to the small double desk he and Judy had been assigned. Dropping himself into his chair he smiled, using his foot to give his chair and extra little spin before pulling out his keyboard and booting up his computer. Today was going to be a good day, he could feel it. He worked for the next 10 minutes, filing forms that he'd neglected yesterday since he'd been in a hurry. Luckily none of the forms were overly important. A report of gas usage he and Judy had used during patrol, his timesheet, and a small batch of emails sent around by his fellow officers.

“Nick? What are you doing here so early?"

The sound of his partner's confused voice made him look up, grinning at Judy's confused expression as she moved to take her seat across from him behind her desk. Casually he shrugged. “I decided to see what it was like to be the early bird. Little disappointed there are no words though.”

His grin grew as Judy rolled her eyes before turning on her own computer and waiting for it to load up. they still had about five more minutes until they had to report to the bullpen for rollcall and the day's assignments. “So, how was it seeing your friend?"

He couldn't help but wag his tail slightly, the memory of what he and Jack had done the night before still fresh in his mind. “it was great. been ages since I've seen him. actually, Jack was hoping he could come by for lunch. I'd love for you two to meet. I'm sure you'd like him.”

Judy cocked her head, watching her partner smile widely at her. There was something different about him, some twinkle in his eye, or an extra little swish in his tail. If she didn't know any better she’d think he'd gotten laid. But a quick sniff of the air around him told her he’d taken a show that morning, erasing any trace of whoever he might have been with. Then again maybe this friend that had come into town some kind of old ‘friends with benefits’ and for all she knew they'd spent the night rutting each other’s brains out. As soon as she thought that idea though, she discarded it. Nick had never shown any interest in males before, at least none that she’d ever seen. And none that Clawhauser had been able to pick up on as the precinct gaydar master. Besides, if their history was anything to go by nick was CERTAINLY not interested in males.

Smiling to herself she turned her attention to the paperwork on her desk. She’d let nick have his good mood. He was probably just really happy to see his old friend from school. And who knew, perhaps meeting the friend at lunch would get her a story or two she could blackmail him from time to time with.

Across from her nick spoke casually. “Oh by the way my friend is a rabbit.”

“Wait what?”


	3. Chapter 3

Nick shifted nervously in his seat  again checking his phone for the dozenth time. He wasn't sure why he was so nervous. It wasn't like anything bad was going to happen. Jack was just coming for lunch, and to meet his partner. His stomach twisted nervously at that. The idea of his male lover meeting his… his...

His eyes flickered to Judy, watching as she took a bite of the salad she'd bought when they'd stopped for lunch. What exactly was she? For that matter what exactly was his and her's relationship? They'd been partners for the last several months. For sure he could call her a friend, possibly even his best friend. But… those terms… they didn't cover everything that he and she were. After all, partners on the job didn't help each other out when one of them was about to go into heat. At least… not in the way they did. Best friends… VERY best friends… maybe… but… were they more?

Last year… when... it... had happened, it had felt… good. Really good. Not just physically but, mentally too. Afterwards, when they'd both been sweaty and panting and exhausted; holding her, feeling her chest rise and fall against his arms as they had cuddled… it had felt right. Feeling her fur against his, the soft tickle of her breath on his neck. The feeling of his paws running along her body. All those moments and a million others had been magical to him. He'd felt so close to her. Closer than he'd ever been with almost anyone else. He'd almost said the words to her, those three little words that he had known for a long time that he wanted to say to her. In the midst of a heat induced romp was not when he wanted to confess to the grey rabbit. He'd planned to tell her afterwards, to take her out on a date, to a nice dinner and tell her then. To do things properly like they were supposed to be done.

But… that plan hadn't worked out. He'd known there would be a bit of awkwardness after the heat had dissipated, how could there not; but he hadn't expected her brush it off for the most part. Yet that's exactly what she'd done. Yes she'd thanked him for what he'd done, and they had agreed going forward that if/when either of them wanted to do it again they could but… that had been in. Judy had made it very clear that she wasn't looking for anything more than a rut buddy. Not even a full friends with benefits. The next day they'd gone back to being partners and friends, as if nothing had changed. That had been rough on him. More than once since then he'd had to turn to alcohol to numb the feelings that came with this sort of half rejection. He cared about Judy, he could say with certainty that he loved her. And not just in the 'you're my partner and best friend kind of way' but in the 'I'm in love with you' kind of way.

and yet she didn't seem to feel the same way which left him feeling-

"HEYO!"

halfway done with taking a sip of water Nick turned in the direction of the familiar voice. a moment later he gagged, almost choking on his drink as his eyes fell on the quickly approaching grey and black rabbit. he'd expected Jack to do something, the bunny was to much of a teaser to not do SOMETHING. coughing slightly and trying to catch his breath Nick's eyes roved over the tight black pants that he knew all to well as the ones with a hidden zipper that could unzip and expose Jack's ass, the rainbow pattern studs that lined one of Jack's ears and the T-shirt that the words 'Bits = Cock' written under it. _'sweet cheese and crackers Jack!'_

as Jack neared them he spoke again, this time his voice a little more normal sounded. "Hello Nicky. How's it going? Not to hungover from last night?"

narrowing his eyes at the rabbit Nick shook his head. "Nope, not at all."

Jack shrugged and grinned. "Well goodie. I'd hate to cause you any trouble at work." Nick watched as Jack came a stop in front of their table, his eyes wafting over to where Judy sat. A quick glance at his partner told Nick that she was openly staring at Jack. after a few moments Jack giggled, an effeminate giggle that Nick had never heard him use before. "Aren't you going to introduce me to your partner Nicky? Or did you you invite me here under false pretenses?" a moment later Jack's face broke into a wide grin. "OH! DID YOU FINALLY DECIDE TO TAKE ME UP ON MY OFFER? I PROMISE YOU WON'T ABLE TO STAND AFTER I'M DONE WITH YOU. ANYTHING A FEMALE CAN DO-"

At Jack's raised voice Nick's whiskers bristled, his fur standing on end while he seriously considered reaching across the table and throttling the male rabbit. a moment later Jack's voice broke, dissolving into a fit of giggles as he pointed at Nick who felt like he was about to explode with a combination of embarrassment and humiliation. after several seconds of laughing Jack took a few short breaths, his voice returning to how it normally sounded. "Oh gods… oh man, Nick you should see the look on our face. you look like you're thinking about reaching across this table and strangling me."

biting is teeth slightly Nick spoke, his voice slightly strained. "I MIGHT be."

Jack grinned. "promise?" as he spoke he fluttered his eyebrows suggestively.

next to him Nick heard Judy clear her throat slightly. shaking his head Nick turned, looking to Judy while waving a paw at Jack. "Judy this..."  he turned to half glare at Jack. "Flaming eyesore," Jack's expression became one of mock indigence. "Is my friend."

Across the table Jack smiled pleasantly before speaking. "Jack savage. It's nice to meet you Mrs Hopps. "

 

\----------

 

Something had changed inside her. Some kind of cool detachment had vanished and was now replaced by…

She looked this new rabbit up and down, taking in his groomed grey fur which was broken up by a series of alternating black stripes. The way he was dressed was clearly meant to cause a stir, indeed he seemed perfectly comfortable while some of the other mammals at the surrounding tables openly stared at him. Next to her Nick had clearly been… 'affected' by this rabbit's appearance. Putting her fork down Judy smiled pleasantly, finding the expression to be a bit more strained than she had expected it to be. "H-hello. Nice to meet you Jack."

Across from her Jack grinned and nodded. "You too. Nick told me a lot about you last night."

Judy raised an eyebrow, her gaze shifting to Nick. "Oh? You have me at a bit of a disadvantage then. I'll admit he hasn't told me much about you."

Jack sighed and looked to Nick before shrugging casually. "I wouldn't say I'm surprised. I doubt a subject like me comes up much in daily conversation. Not unless you regularly discuss who you drunkenly made out with in high school."

Again Judy felt Nick stiffen, his tail going almost ramrod straight which her fur bristled while hissed under his breath. "Jack!"

As much as she didn't want to admit it Judy felt her own fur bristle a bit too. Nick and this rabbit had…

"So..." She struggled to keep her tone friendly. "You and Nick know each other from high school?"

Jack nodded opening his mouth to speak only for Nick to cut him off. "Yes. Detention actually. Believe it or not Jack here was an even bigger troublemaker than me."

This time it was Jack's turn to glare at Nick, a glare that only made Nick stick out his tongue at the rabbit. "Fair is fair Jacky boy."

After a few more seconds of glaring Jack's expression softened and he turned to look back at Judy. "Ok… yeah. I had a bit of a rough streak that landed me in detention a few times. And one of those times I met Nick and we became friends."

Judy raised an eyebrow. "what did you do?"

Jack shrugged. "some of the jocks at the school thought the gay bunny wouldn't fight back if they picked on him. They were wrong and got their asses kicked." After a moment Jack smiled. "but those days are behind me now. I don't get into fights anymore. I promise officer ma'am"

She nodded, her gaze flickering to Nick who was watching Jack as well. She could tell something was going on. She'd been too at the academy after all, she could tell that Nick and this rabbit weren't telling her everything. But why?

Next to her Nick spoke. "Jack works in finance, particularly large corporations who want to do business overseas. He's always getting called away to go to some random country, so he isn't in Zootopia very much."

Judy shrugged and nodded, trying to remain casual.  "is that why you haven't talked about him before?"

Nick's ears flicked back, but before he could respond Jack jumped in. "Oh that's at my request. See working for big companies and helping them move their money around, well it makes me a prime target for scammers or criminals. I trust Nick because we've known each other for years. But I also knew the kind of circles and people he was around and I didn't want to cause any troubles. So I asked Nick not to talk about me. And I guess after he became a cop he just kept doing as he promised." Jack shot a sideways smile at Nick before returning his gaze to Judy. "he's a very good mammal, despite what he might want you to believe. A totally softy too, cries during tender moments in movies."

Nick growled under his breath at Jack, making the grey rabbit laugh. "I. Do. Not. Cry."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say you big softy."

Judy remained silent looking between the two. There was definitely a history here, so this wasn't some thinly veiled attempt by her parents to rope Nick into a scheme to get her to go on a date. The way Nick and Jack were talking, the way they jabbed and verbally spared with each other; there was a familiarity with each other. The kind that couldn't be faked after a few conversations. And yet… something was off, making the fur on her ears bristle slightly. There was something… strange about their interactions. They were strained slightly. As if Jack was toeing some line that Nick had laid down. Was there something between them that Nick didn't want her to know about? Jack's comment when he'd first arrived sprang into her mind. She was pretty sure he'd been about to say he could do anything a female could do  but better. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she watched Jack laugh at something Nick had said. had this rabbit… hit on Nick? Had Nick… considered it? For some reason that made her insides squirm angrily and her jaw clench.

but she was saved from having to speak as a loud electronic chime spit the air, a signal that their lunch break was up at it was time to go back to work. clearing her throat Judy spoke. "Sorry, our lunch is over. it was nice to have met you Jack, maybe we'll see each other again sometime."

Jack shrugged and nodded. "maybe. I should be in town for the next few days."

she smiled, again noting how strained the expression felt, as if she was being forced to do it. "Well good. Shall we Nick?"

from his spot Nick looked at her. "why don't you bring the car around and pick me up? I wanna speak with Jack for a moment."

instantly Judy felt her mood darken. her brow furrowed slightly and he voice dropped a level, losing some of its friendliness. "fine."

she pushed her chair back, not saying another word as she got down and left the eating area.

 

\-------------

 

Nick remained silent, watching as his partner walked off in silence. next to him Jack remained silent too, both of them watching as Judy's form retreated until they could no longer see her. only then did Nick wheel around to glare at Jack who only grinned back at him casually. "She seems nice."

Nick felt his eye twitch. "OH MY GOD I WANNA STRANGLE YOU SO BADLY RIGHT NOW!" As he spoke Nick flexed his paws threateningly.

leaning back in his chair Jack chuckled. "Oh my Wilde, choking the rabbit in public? sly fox, well I'm down if you are. just let me take off these pa-"

he broke off, laughing as Nick spluttered and stammered over his words. After several seconds Nick closed his eyes, his paw going to his face while he inhaled deeply. "I thought we agreed you wouldn't out me at work."

Jack frowned. "I didn't out you Wilde. It's not like I told her what else we used to do under the blea-"

Nick's eyes snapped open, his voice becoming a low his. "I'm not kidding Jack! You may as well have sat down on my lap and made out with me!"

Jack rolled his eyes. "Nick, relax. Nothing I did made us seem like anything more than your typical friends from high school. Think about it. Of course we'd give each other crap if we were such old friends. And of course we'd rib on each other. If I'd come here all formal and stuffy then she'd have been able to instantly tell I was hiding something. By throwing all this," Jack gestured to himself, "at her all at once she will just think I'm the queeny flaming old friend who hits on you and says yaaaaas bitch." As he spoke Jack snapped his fingers dramatically.

Groaning in his seat Nick took another breath. "Still… a little warning next time would have been nice."

Jack grinned smugly at him. "And miss your expression when you met flaming Jack? Fuck no."

Rolling his eyes Nick chuckled. "He's certainly… flamboyant."

Jack wiggled his eyebrows. "And adventurous. Wanna find out how?" As he spoke Jack's voice became a low seductive purr as he leaned forward.

Nick bit his lip, shivering as the implications of Jack's words washed over him, making a certain limb stiffen slightly. "M-maybe later."

Jack smiled. "Count on it."

Opening his mouth Nick found himself saved from responding by the sound of loud car horn cutting through their conversation. Looking up Nick found Judy had brought the cruiser away and was now waiting for him by the curb. Standing up Nick sighed looking to Jack before speaking. "Will I see you again tonight?"

Jack nodded. "of course. Casa de Wilde is the best hotel in town. Plus, I have a little thank you in store for you."

Nick shivered at the way Jack's tone changed, becoming huskier and unmistakably sultry. "O-ok. Well… I'll see you tonight."

Moving to leave the table Nick passed Jack, jumping and jerking slightly as he felt the rabbit openly pinch his butt as he walked by. "Jack!"

Jack grinned and laughed. "Can't help it officer. I just love a mammal in uniform. Maybe you should cuff me and scare me straight."

That made Nick grin, rolling his eyes before continuing on his way to the waiting cruiser. Pulling open the door Nick had just started to drop himself I to the seat when he heard Jack call out to him. "Remember Nick, your gun is the thing on your hip NOT the thing between your legs."

Feeling his face prickle with embarrassment Nick stuck his paw out the window, a single digits lifted in a gesture that made Jack laugh as they drove away.

 

\----------

 

The mood in the cruiser was… odd. Tense was not the right word. It wasn't like they were mad at each other. But they're weren't their happy joking selves either. From where he was leaning against the door Nick's eyes flickered to his partner. For her part Judy seemed to be completely focused on the road, her eyes never waivering as she drove. It had been almost 10 minutes since they'd gotten back from lunch. And in those 10 minutes Judy had said only one thing to him, her usual 'order' to buckle up. They'd just come to a stop at a red light when Judy spoke, her voice trying to sound casual but carrying with it a tone of strain. "So… Jack seems… nice."

 He shifted to look at her, examining her as he did so. She still wasn't looking at him, her eyes firmly locked on the road even though they'd come to a stop. Her ears we're laid flat against her back, a sign she was uncomfortable and the sound of strain in her voice made it clear she really didn't want to be talking about this. "He is... but you don't like him. Do you."

His words weren't a question, it didn't take his years as a grifter to figure that out. The signs were as clear as day, made even more clear by the way Judy shifted in her seat, still not looking at him. "It's… it's not that I don't like him. It's… I just…" Nick watched as for the first time she shifted, looking sideways at him. "Did you want he really make out in highschool?"

He remained silent for a moment, trying to decide how to answer that question. The true answer was no. He hadn't made out with ANYONE in school. He'd been to confused and unsure of himself to even date anyone. But Jack had setup the con and now he had to maintain it. He squirmed in his seat, calling on his grifting skills to sell his discomfort with the topic. "Yeah. He and I got really drunk at a school dance and ended up making out."

Across from him Judy was silent, the only sound in the car the growl of the engine as the light turned green and they began to move again. For a few blocks the silence continued then, "and… his joke about… doing things better than… females… has he really… offered?"

He was watching his partner closely now. Something was going on, something he couldn't quite put his finger on. Why was Judy asking all these questions? Questions that always seemed to center around Jack being gay or what he and him and had in the past. He could tell Judy didn't like Jack, that was plain as day. But why… then slowly an idea came to him. One that made his brow furrow into a frown as he stared at his partner. "Judy… do you not like Jack BECAUSE he's gay?"

That got a reaction from her, making Judy's head snap sideways to stare at him in a mixture of shock and; could it be guilt? "Wh-what? N-no! That's not-"

Nick narrowed his eyes. "It's pretty clear you don't like him. Its not like you have to fall in love with him or anything. there's about a 100 reasons someone might not like another person. So what is it about Jack? Tell me."

Judy shifted uncomfortably in her seat, her heart beating a bit faster than she'd expected it to be. Next to her Nick was glaring at her, a cold and almost angry glare that she'd only been on the other end of once before. Her mind scrambled to answer his question. Why didn't she like Jack? He'd been polite...ish; he certainly hadn't been rude. He'd been funny. And clearly he made Nick happy. The two of them obviously enjoyed being around each other. That should have at least made her feelings towards him neutral at minimum. Why then did she get a feeling of anger whenever she pictured the grey and black striped rabbit? She knew the real answer almost instantly. The idea of that rabbit… and Nick… kissing… of that rabbit doing anything sexual with Nick…

' _With YOUR fox._ '

She bit her lip, doing her best to push that thought down and away. Yes… she liked Nick… as more than just a partner on the job or a friend. She'd known that for, well for a while now. Last year, when he'd shown up at her apartment; she'd been practically climbing the walls and half out of her mind with heat. She'd tackled him, and not in a playful way either; it had been a full force grabbing him by the shoulders and dragging him violently to the ground tackle. And then…

' _We fucked our brains out for the next three days_ '

Afterwards, when they'd been sticky and hot and both of them were panting from exhaustion… things had felt… right. The feeling of Nick's arms around her, the warmth of his breath along her neck, the feeling of closeness as they'd cuddled. It had all been right. She'd had other rut buddies before. Only one or two, and with them she'd wanted nothing more than to get rid of them the moment the heat broke. But this time, with Nick… she'd wanted it to last. But she hadn't wanted to seem clingy, like some mewling virgin who desperately clung to their first time as if it was a proposal of marriage. She'd tried to play things more casually, hoping that maybe the change in their relationship would evolve from what had happened. But now…

Across from her Nick huffed slightly. "Fine. I won't talk about Jack around you."

She looked to Nick, trying to figure out what to say. "Nick… you don-"

But Nick shook his head, his expression firm but no longer mad. "It's fine Judy, you don't have to like Jack. I won't bring him up and I'll figure out some excuse for if he wants to see you again."

Judy's stomach twisted painfully. Even if he was saying it was fine, she could tell by his expression and tone that it wasn't fine. She took a deep breath, trying to build up her courage. ' _Just say it. Say that you don't like Jack because you're worried he'll try and steal Nick away.'_

Her mouth felt draw as she tried to make herself say the words. "Nick… I-"

But the rest of the words were cut off as the radio squawked and beeped to life, Clawhauser's voice coming over the line. "Nick, Judy; there some kind of disturbance in plains district off Tusken road and Appaloosa Crossing. Can you two go check it out?"

Before Judy had a chance to react Nick had grabbed the radio and spoke into it. “Yeah Clawhauser, We’ll check it out.”

As Clawhauser gave the coordinates to the air Nick looked sideways at her. “Come on. Lets go.”

Sighing Judy reached over, flicking the switch that turned on the sirens as they began to accelerate. She could tell Nick was upset with her. She wanted to say something, to explain her feelings. To explain that idea of a rabbit… or anyone else… anyone who wasn't her… kissing him… or touching him… it made her want to scream. Made her want to tear her fur out and punch whoever it was in the face until there was nothing left. Made her want to grab him by his tie, throw him down on the ground and mount him like a wild animal until every mammal in the city knew he belonged to HER. She didn't want him to be with anyone else, she wanted him to be with HER. but as she sat there in the seat, shoulders slump and ears hanging limply behind her, she could tell that now was not the time to confess these feelings. Not when Nick clearly thought she was some kind of homophob who disliked one of his oldest friends and wanted nothing to do with him.

_‘Later you can talk to him and explain how you feel.’_

She hoped that would be enough.


	4. Chapter 4

Leaning against the wall of the elevator Jack savage waited for the doors to open. He hoped this wouldn't take long. Debriefings usually only took a few hours but sometimes they could run longer, MUCH longer. He was fairly sure this wouldn't be one of those times though. The agency would have him sit down and recount what had happened during the mission, what he'd done and how he'd done it. Then a psychiatrist would interview him, asking him questions to evaluate his mental state and make sure he wasn't a danger to himself or the population. And then he'd be free to go. All in all… maybe four hours tops? Rolling his head back against the elevator Jack sighed softly. He'd rather spend that time with Nick. Seeing the fox in his police uniform was more than enough to make a buck 'stand at attention'. The young fox had looked good, no; he'd looked down right sexy as fucking hell in that uniform. Mentally he purred at the memory. He'd have to hurry here. He still had several other things he had to do today, and if he was lucky one of them would involve seeing the red fox for a personal strip search.

 

\--------------

 

Dropping himself into his couch Nick sighed and absentmindedly ran a towel over his head and ears. The shower had felt good, then again it always did. The perfect way to wash away the grime and fatigue of the day. A note he'd found on the fridge had told him that Jack was out running errands today but that if he had time later tonight he'd try and stop by. Normally such a note would have made him feel happy and perky, enough to make the shower feel extra special. But as good as the warm water had felt Nick still found himself filled with inner turmoil. Leaning back on the couch Nick allowed his eyes to drift closed as his mind wandered back to the situation. He wasn't exactly sure what he'd expected to happen. He'd have been surprised if Jack and Judy had just clicked and become bosom buddies after a single meeting. ' _ I mean Jack and I did, but those were very different circumstances.'  _ Maybe he'd expected them to be friends on the grounds of them both being grey rabbits? Perhaps a little tad bit speciests but… a possibility… maybe?

But… he hadn't expected that. For Judy to instantly dislike Jack right off the bat because of his sexuality. That had taken him aback, even startled him. Judy Hopps, the rabbit who practically preached open mindedness and not judging others, didn't like gay people? ' _ Then again, it might not be entirely her fault. She did come from a rural area. They're probably much more conservative out in the country than they are here in the city. _ ' that certainly could be a factor. He'd gone with her to her family's farm a few times, her family certainly was more conservative than others that Nick had met here. So… maybe it was just her upbringing? Maybe if she got to know Jack, she might find that he wasn't a bad guy just because of his sexuality.

Nick felt his ears lie flat against his head in worry. What if she didn't? What if she truly did dislike gay people? What would that mean for him? He wasn't truly gay, since he found both genders equally attractive. Was that just as bad? Worse? Less? His stomach squirmed painfully. If she found out… would she not want to be his partner anymore? His friend? Would she tell him he was going to burn in hell or that he was better off dead? Unwelcome in his mind came that very image, of her glaring at him, yelling; calling him a freak and a pervert. Telling him she never wanted to see him again that he didn't deserve to be an officer and that he should just go back to the streets and being a hustler, or better yet go die somewhere. It may have been just his imagination, but each word still hurt, sticking into his heart like they were knives until he could actually feel tears tingling along the sides of his eyes. 

_ 'Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. DAMN IT!' _

He forced himself to breath, to take a deep breath; then another and another and another. He was working himself up for no reason. He was imagining the absolute worst case scenario and acting like it was a for sure thing. Maybe…  maybe he could change Judy's mind. Maybe he could show her that Jack being gay wasn't a bad thing. Maybe… if she understood that liking makes was ok… maybe if would mean she'd accept him. Maybe-

But at that moment he found his thoughts cut off by the sound of a firm knock at his door, followed by a soft and slightly unsure voice. "Nick? Are you home?"

His ears perked up instantly. "C-carrots?" 

He got to his feet, quickly hurrying to the hallway closet before grabbing a pair of basketball shorts and an oversized shirt. As he pulled the shirt over his head he called out as Judy knocked on the door again. "J-just a second! I'm not decent." For a second he found it a little odd that he'd say such a thing. He was sure that in the past he would have said something witty or clever  or even vaguely flirtatious. Hell he might have even just flung open the door while he stood there in the buff. But after today…

He half staggered to the door, pulling the shorts on as he moved before opening the door. On the other side stood his friend, clad in simple jeans and a light yellow shirt a slightly amused look on her face. "H-hey slick. Did I catch you in the middle of s-something?" 

He shook his head. "N-no. I just got out of the shower is all."

Judy nodded, her eyes flickering into his apartment. "Uh… can we talk?"

Blinking Nick nodded a moment later stepping aside and allowing Judy to come in before closing the door behind her. Turning he watched as Judy moved into the living room standing slightly awkwardly as she did so. For a moment she looked around the room, but then she turned to look at him. "Is… is Jack… here?"

Nick sighed. "No. He's running errands."

Judy nodded, shifting nervously. "Oh… ok. G-good."

Her choice of words bugged him. So much so that unconsciously his hackles rose slightly. "Why are you hear Judy?"

She blinked at him, clearly taken aback by his gruff tone. "I… I wanted… I was hoping..." She took a deep breath. "I want to talk… about earlier… about Jack." 

Nick remained where he stood watching her. "Ok. Talk then."

Again Judy blinked at him. He could tell his less than friendly responses were making Judy uncomfortable. In Front of him Judy squirmed nervously, shifting her weight from one leg to another as she tried to find the right words. "Nick… I… I don't have a problem… with Jack… or him being gay. I'm… I'm not like that."

Nick rolled his eyes. "Judy, I said it's fine. You don't have to pretend to like him."

But Judy shook her head. "I'm not pretending Nick. He seems like a nice person. It's just… I… uh…"

Nick huffed slightly. What was the point of this? Was she trying to convince him now? "It's just what Judy? Just that he's a freak? That he's amoral? That the idea of him and another male kissing and touching each other makes you uncomfortable?" He hadn't noticed it before but his tail was lashing angrily from side to side as he'd spoken.

From where she stood Judy looked at him shocked. "Wh-what? N-no! Nick that's not what I'm saying! I'm-"

But huffed again, his fur bristling as he did so. "It's what then Judy? I mean, you didn't have to fall in love with the guy, but even a blind and deaf mole would be able to tell you don't like Jack. So what is it?"

Now it was Judy's turn to bristle, her foot stamping the floor angrily. "Why are you being a jerk?! I'm trying to tell you-"

Nick snarled, his tail fur standing on end. "THEN FUCKIN SPIT IT OUT JUDY! WHATS YOUR PROBLEM WITH JA-" 

In front of his Judy growled, her paws going to her ears which she pulled down over her face for a moment before responding. "I DON'T WANT HIM TO KISS OR TOUCH YOU!" 

He hadn't expected that, her words catching Nick off guard. "Wh-what?"

In front of him Judy kept her ears over her face, her foot thumping the floor several times before she continued. "I don't want ANYONE to kiss you or touch you. I don't want anyone who isn't me to even look at you. It drives me crazy just thinking about it. I wanna rip my fur out and scream and beat the crap out of them until they're nothing but a bloody pulp." She let her eyes go, her purple eyes looking at him with a kind of shame in them. "I want you all to myself."

Instantly Nick felt his anger drain out of him, replaced by a feeling of disgust with himself. He should have realized what was going on. He should have known it would be a factor. Running his paw over his ears Nick groaned softly. "Fuck."

Across from him Judy remained silent looking at him. After a few seconds she spoke softly. "N-Nick?" 

He sighed softly, moving towards her before kneeling down and pulling her into a soft hug. "I'm sorry Judy. I'm so sorry. I… I should have realized." He felt her return his hug, her arms circling his waist softly. He truly did feel like dirt right then and there. He should have known her upcoming heat would have had an affect on her. He should have realized it would make her possessive and territorial. He just hadn't expected those feelings to extend to him. He hugged her a little tighter. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said those things. It wasn't fair of me…  with your condition… I'm so sorry."

She hugged him back. Pressing her face against his chest. As she did so she inhaled, his warm musk filling her nose. She wanted to say more. To tell him that these feelings didn't have anything to do with her heat. That even out of her heat she still hated the idea of anyone other than her touching him or kissing him. She wanted to say it so badly. And yet as they stood there hugging she couldn't bring herself to say the words. They would change things, change them, change what they had. Everything would change. So she clung to him instead, breathing in his beautiful scent and wishing that she was braver than she was. 

God's he really did smell good. The smell was almost hypnotic, a warm musky sweaty scent that reached into her and made her crave more. She shifted a little, her nose twitching as more of his scent filled her. He felt beautifully warm against her, his arms holding her with just the right amount of security and comfort. His breath wafted slightly against the base of her left ear. God's he smelled so good. "Judy?" The sound of his voice sent a shiver up her spine, making tingles erupt along her arms as it washed over her like a wave. She felt him pull back slightly, looking down at her. It was unconscious, she didn't even think about it. One moment she was looking up at him half in a daze and the next; she was pressing her lips to his. The kiss was short and a bit surprised, no doubt she'd caught Nick a little off guard. "J-Judy?"

She looked up at him, her mind going slightly blank as her eyes connected with his. "Dumb fox. This is all your fault."

She watched as his ears twitched slightly. "Yeah… I guess it is."

She leaned in, his nose twitching along his neck as she inhaled more of his beautifully glorious scent. "Make it up to me." 

In front of her he moved, bending down so he could pick her up. Her arms went around his neck instinctively and a moment later their lips were back together again in another kiss. It was wonderful and good, like taking an ice cold drink after an entire shift in Sahara Square. She felt his tongue flicker along her lips, a soft questioning request for permission; one she answered by opening her mouth and allowing him inside. Her grip on his fur tightened, her breath in taking sharply while she pulled herself deeper into the kiss. Gods it felt good, no good didn't even describe what this was. This was amazing. The feeling of his lips against hers, the feeling of his fur, of his paws gripping her thighs. It sent shivers up her spine and sent fireworks off in her brain. It made her grip him tighter and kiss him harder, made her heart beat faster. When they broke apart she growled, her brain demanding more from him.

In front of her Nick chuckled softly, carrying her through the apartment and down the hallway before pushing the door to the bedroom open with his foot and moving inside. The moment he was in front of the bed  He dropped her, making Judy yelp in surprise as she fell the two feet onto the mattress. She moved to sit up, her eyes narrowing into a near glare only to feel his weight press down around her as he climbed onto the bed and straddled her hips. Gods the feeling of his hips against hers was enough to make her toes curl. Her paws went to his chest, her fingers gripping his shirt tightly as she dragged him back down to her lips again. She growled into the kiss, the feeling of his body pressing down on hers sending shivers rippling through her. She growled as he pulled away, the loss of his lips against hers making her body roar in anger. She grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, dragging him back down against her, her tongue pressing against his lips for a moment before finding an opening and-

Her body surged, a shudder of decedent want and need rushing through her as their tongues brushes together. She held him against her, her lungs filling with his sent and sending phantom whiffs of pleasure through her body as a rapidly warming heat bloomed in her hips. She gasped, breaking the kiss as she felt his paws move, running along her stomach and hips as he fumbled with the button and zipper of her pants. The grinding feeling of her Upper being pulled down making the heat inside her grow hotter. The heat grew another few degrees as he pulled her pants down and away, leaving her in just her panties. Then a new feeling, one that made her hips buck and arch at the feeling of his paw running along her panties. She groaned as his paw drifted lower, cupping her sex through the thin fabric while his other paw moved, going to the back of her head before pulling her up into another kiss. Her hips moved on their own, grinding against his paw; sending dull rippling waves of pleasure through her that made her paws tremble slightly. When the kiss broke Nick spoke, his voice smug. "Now, how can I make it up to you carrots?"

She growled at his tone, her paws going to the top of his head; pushing it back and down. "P-put that tongue of y-yours to wo-mmmmmm!"

Her words vanished, replaced by a gurgling moan as he blew a soft breaths cross her panties, making her shiver at the sudden rush of cold. "What was that carrots?"

The tone of smugness in his voice made her blood boil. She was in heat, she wasn't in the mood for these games. She wanted him to shut up and fuck her until she couldn't move. Her grip on his fur tightened, making him inhale a little sharper than usual as he pushed her hips forward while pulling his head down. "STOP. TALKING."

He chuckled softly but said nothing. A moment her whole body jolted as he leaned in, his warm wet beautiful tongue lapping at her panties and the growing wetspot in front of her sex. "Mmmmmm!" She bit her lip, her eyes clamping shut and she struggled to keep her breathing normal. Gods it felt sooo good. Like scratching an itch that had been driving you crazy for weeks. She felt his paws grip her hips, shifting her slightly so he had a better angle as he ran the flat of his tongue along her panties. The heat inside her bubbled and churned, finally getting the attention it wanted; making her moan. For a few moments he continued to half tease her, lapping at the damp fabric of her underwear making the dull waves of pleasure rippled through her. Then… slowly…

Her grip on his head tightened as she felt one of his fingers snag the edge of her panties, slowly; achingly maddeningly painfully slowly dragging it down lower and lower and lower until they slipped from her legs and hit the floor with a soft thump. She shivered slightly, partially from the sudden rush of cool air but also partially from the excitement of what was about to happen. Everything felt enhanced to her, every touch  every breath, every little movement. The feeling of his breath wafting across her sex, the gentle pressure of his paws on her hips, the aching burning tingling want that was going to drive her insane and the fast almost frantic beating of her heart which thundered in her ears. The next moment took all of that away, rendering it completely unimportant as she felt his hot wet slick tongue run along her dampened folds. Her body reacted on it's own, her back arching as her head rolled back; a deep guttering moan erupting from her mouth as he again licked her. Stars burst in front of her eyes, even as she clamped them shut and tugged on his head, forcing his muzzle to press right against her. Another lick sent a jolt through her body  this one teasing the very edges of her lips. The next one made her toes curl as it applied a little more pressure. She was almost shaking in want as she felt him repeat the lick, applying more and more pressure until finally she could resist no longer. 

It was wrong. So completely utterly impossibly wrong; and yet it sent a blast of decadent pleasure racing through her body as she felt him open his mouth wide, his teeth running and half scrappin along her hips while his tongue filled her insides. She bit her lip, struggling against herself as she felt his warm wet wriggling tongue slip inside her; sending a bolt of lightning straight to her brain. Her grip on his ears tightened as she ground her hips against his muzzle forcing every inch of his glorious tongue inside her. The feeling of it inside her, of it moving and squirming it sent more bolts of pleasure rocketing through her body. It made her breathing become ragged and panting. It made her feel almost dizzy. And last it made her-

"NNNNNAAAAAAAAAA!"

suddenly her entire body jerked and twitched, her insides clamping down around his tongue as it brushed against that spot deep inside her. That bundle of nerves that threatened to make her lose herself in the growing sea of ecstasy that was swirling and raging around her. He repeated the touch, sending another explosion through her body that took her breath away. She was out of control now, her hips moved on their own; bucking and jumping wantonly and without shame against his beautiful tongue. There was no restraining the sounds she was making, a chorus of grunting panting gasping moans and whimpers. She could feel it, that burning tingling throbbing pulsing heat inside her. The same heat that had made her crave his touch and hard started all this. It had started as a smolder and quickly become a fire and now  stoked by his ministrations and attention had become an inferno that engulfed her entire body. She panted and shuddered, her insides squirming and twitching around his tongue as it suddenly changed tactics, darting rapidly in and out making her gasp and arch her back almost painfully. She was so close, so very almost achingly close to her climax.  

She whimpered as she felt his paws come up. His claws prickling and scratching her skin, leaving small stinging trails through her fur as he drug them across her hips and stomach. She bit her lip again, this time so hard she swore she could taste blood. Her body tensed and for several seconds she held her breath and tried to push it back down. ' _ Not yet… not...yet… no-' _

It slammed into her like a sledgehammer to the chest. The fire that had engulfed her grew hotter, in an instant becoming white-hot; making every nerve in her body scream and her along with them. Her grip on his head before whiteknuckled as she spread her legs wider, forcing his muzzle against her sex as hard as she could. Fire danced through her body and in her veins, the feeling of his tongue twitching and moving still only stoking the flames to burn hotter. She struggled to breath, each breath she managed to take ripped from her by another echoing shuddering moan that she was sure everyone in the building could hear. Her eyes clamped shut and her back arches, lifting her partially off the bed. Through the blinding dizzying pleasure she felt his paws move, going to her back for support. His claws prickled and tugged gently at her skin only adding to the decadent and forbidden pleasures she was feeling. Slowly she was starting to go numb, the blinding white-hot ecstasy she was feeling gradually cooling until it left her panting and sweaty and shaking.  

She gasped, a shudder rippling through her as she felt his tongue withdraw from her insides. A moment later she felt his lips press against her hips in a soft and almost moving kiss. Her body moved without thought, pulling on his head; pulling him up and away from her hips and back to her lips which connected with his a moment later. The kiss was deep and good, enough to make her toes curl as tightly as anything he'd just done to her. She clung to him  willing him to understand the kiss and what it really meant, even if she couldn't say the words for some reason. She wanted to be the only mammal who kissed him like this, the only one would could enjoy the feelings and sensations he could make someone feel. She wanted him all to herself. So she held the kiss for as long as she could, not letting him go until her lungs ached and burned with the need for oxygen. When they did break apart it was in a panting gasp, making both of their chests heave and rub together as they worked to regain their breath. 

"H-how was th-that for m-making it u-u-up to you?"

She groaned weakly, a sudden wave of fatigue and weariness washing through her; taking her desire to make some witty remark. Above her Nick seemed to know what she was feeling, the red fox leaned in; planting a soft tender kiss against her forehead before moving. His paws drifted under her shirt, lifting the article of clothing up and off of her body before dropping it over the side of the bed. Her bra followed a moment later, leaving her naked and bare before him. Her eyes became heavy, struggling to stay open as her fox moved away for a moment; shedding his own clothes until he was equally naked as she was before crawling into the bed next to her. She allowed him to move her, manipulating her until she was facing him with her head half nuzzled against his shoulder. A moment later a feeling of a warm weight spread over hear, a result of the blankets he'd pulled over them. She groaned again, the sudden warmth making her realize just how tired she was in that moment. Her eyes drifted closed automatically and she was only dimly aware of his soft words. "Sleep well carrots."

She didn't even have the energy to respond before sleep took her.

 

\-------------

 

Jack savage sighed as he reentered the elevator, pressing the button and felt the elevator began to move. The debriefing had taken longer than he'd expected it to, it was not 9:30pm; according to his watch he'd been here almost 10 hours. Pulling his phone from him pocket his fingers danced across the screen, quickly typing out and sending a message to Nick. 

'Finished my errands. Can I come over? '

 The response came a moment later, his ears drooping slightly as he read the words. 

'Carrots is here. Needs help with personal issues. Rain check?'

There was no denying the way his energy just drained from his body. No hiding the way his shoulders slumped, his ears dropped and his tail hung limp as he responded. 

'ok. Another time.'

Putting the phone back in his pocket Jack slumped against the elevator wall. By 'carrots' he could assume Nick was talking about his partner, Judy Hopps. What kind of personal issues was she having? Ones that involved Nick? Leaning back against the wall Jack's mind began to work, recalling their meeting from earlier that day. His plan to overwhelm and misdirect her had seemed to work. By acting as some flashy flaming gay he'd distracted her from finding his flirtation with Nick as anything other than playful. He'd come off as the gay best friend, the one who hit on everyone but did it only jokingly. And yet… he'd seen the way she'd stiffened at him, the way she'd become tense, the way she'd stormed off when Nick had said he wanted to stay behind and talk to him. 

There was something there. Something between the young female rabbit and Nick, even a blind mole would be able to see that. Jack bit his lip, allowing his eyes to close for a moment in thought. There was no denying the tod was desirable. Smart, funny, sexy as all fuck, good… great with his paws and even better with his tongue; he was certainly desirable. Was it possible… did the young doe… have a crush on the fox? That thought made his first bristle a little. She and he did spend a lot of time together. No doubt Nick was his usual charming self around her, possibly he'd flirted a few times either knowingly or unknowingly. Yes, yes the more he thought about it the more it made sense. The doe was younger, impressionable, perhaps she'd never had much attention paid to her from a male before. And with Nick being well… Nick; certainly was possible that she had developed a crush on him. And when he Jack had shown up and flirted with the fox it had triggered Judy to become territorial, seeing him as competition for Nick's attention and affections.

Jack groaned. By hiding his sexuality the tod had, certainly not on purpose but undeniably so; created this situation. A situation that could make things rather awkward for him and his partner of she attempted to seduce or woo him only to be rebuffed. Against his will Jack's paw drifted against his leg, and the pocket his cellphone was in. Was she making her move right now? With the sudden arrival of 'competition' it was understandable that she might try something. Again Jack felt his fur prickle involuntarily, an unwelcome mental image of the doe trying to kiss his fo- Nick. As the elevator came to a stop Jack moved, stepping into the large empty parking garage he was in and making his way to his car. Pulling open the door he got in, putting his paws on the steering wheel before pausing to take a deep breath. He didn't like the idea of Nick and the doe being alone together. Just the thought of it was enough to make his heart beat a little faster with nerves. 

He knew the fox. Nick was kind and sweet and hated to cause others pain. Would he… was it possibly…

A moment later he shook his head. No, Nick had never shown any interest in females before. And it wasn't like he was going to sleep with Judy out of pity. But as he started the car and began to drive Jack couldn't stop the last thought from wafting through his brain. What if Judy wasn't the only one of the pair with a crush?


	5. Chapter 5

Morning dawned, bringing with it soft rays of golden light which filtered through the blinds in Nick's apartment, before landing on the sleeping bunny's face and rousing her from her sleep. Judy groaned weakly, squirming away from the light that threatened to wake her and instead moved closer to the other warm body in the bed with her. She inhaled, the musky warm smell of her partner Nick Wilde filling her nostrils and lungs. After several seconds she opened one of her eyes, the sight of slowly rising and falling red furred chest meeting her gaze. Sighing softly she opened her other eye, allowing the slowly creeping alertness go take hold and rouse her from her sleep. Turning her head she glanced at the clock on Nick's nightstand which shown back at her, 7:37 am.

She needed to get up. True neither he or she had work today, Saturdays were one of their days off. But growing up on a farm had conditioned her to get physically uncomfortable if she was still in bed past 7:40am, which was the time her father had come and banged on her door and told her to get her tail up and help her siblings with the chores. Closing her eyes for a moment Judy allowed herself just 10 more seconds, inhaling a final lungful of Nick's warm beautiful relaxing scent before starting to move. Extracting herself from Nick's embrace wasn't hard, just time consuming; but after several minutes of work she managed to duck out from under his arm without waking the sleeping fox. Getting out of his bed she shivered, the nakedness of her body feeling oddly exhilarating and at the same time taboo. Quickly she gathered up her clothes from the day before, putting her bra back on before pulling her shirt back on. She'd finished putting on her underwear and had just started to pull her pants back up when a soft whistle from behind her made her turn. Nick was awake, his emerald green eyes trained on her, clearly watching her get dressed. Judy felt her face heat up slightly, keenly aware that as she'd put on her panties she'd done a small kind of shimmy that he had no doubt seen. "S-sorry. I didn't mean to wake you." 

Softly Nick shook his head. "It's ok. Was worth it to see that little booty shake." As he spoke Nick grinned, making Judy's ears tingle and burn with embarrassment. After a few seconds Nick continued. "Got plans today?"

Judy bit her lip, remaining silent. It felt like an innocent question, one that a friend would ask another friend out of politeness or genuine interest. And yet… they weren't 'just' friends. They were… something more than 'just' friends but also somehow less than lovers. So something that was an innocent question between friends couldn't be innocent between them. It had to mean more. Was he going to ask her to stay? Was he going to suggest they spend all day rutting and fucking like… well rabbits? The idea wasn't unappealing, even if her rising heat had been momentarily sated, the idea of more sex was certainly welcome. And yet… 

"I… I have some errands to run. And I'm supposed to meet up with a few of my siblings. They're taking a tour of Zootopia University and I promised my parents I'd chaperone."

It was a lie. A good lie, one she practiced and used a few times to get out of some things she really didn't want to do. And with so many brothers and sisters it wasn't implausible that she would be asked to show the groups around several times a year. But it was still a lie, she was still lying to her best friend and partner. She hated it, she hated lying to him. She wished she could be honest. Could say that no, she didn't have any plans today. That she was probably going to go home, do laundry and wish that he would come over and surprise her by coming over with lunch or dinner. She wished he'd call her out on it. He was a cop and a former con mammal, he should definitely be able to tell when someone was lying to him. ' _ But he probably thinks you'd never lie to him, so he wouldn't be looking for the signs.'  _ that thought made her stomach twist even worse. 

In front of her Nick smiled and shrugged. "Oh ok. Wanna maybe hangout later? We could do a mov-" but his words broke off as an electronic tone echoed through the room as someone texted him. Judy watched as he reached for his phone, his fingers unlocking the screen as he scanned the message. To break the sudden silence she spoke softly. 

"Who is it?"

Nick looked up at her. "It's jack. He wants to go out for drinks tonight."

She watched her partner, noting the way his eyes flickered back down to the message. She could see the conflict forming in his mind. He'd been about to ask if they could do a movie night like they usually did. But Jack's text had thrown a small wrench into that plan. At the same time it was clear Nick hadn't seen his highschool friend in years, and wanted to spend time with him. Taking a deep breath Judy spoke, doing her best to keep the jealous voices in her had quiet. "Could… could I come with you?"

Nick looked up at her, his expression clearly one of shock. "Uh..."

She smiled sheepishly. "Please? Let me make up for how I acted the first time."

For a few more moments nick looked at her uncertainly, but then he smiled and nodded. "I'll see what Jack says."

Smiling thankfully Judy watched as Nick responded to the text, a moment later Jack responded and Judy felt herself tense slightly with uncertainty. What if he said no? Nick nodded. "He said your welcome to join us."

"Great I can't wait."

' _ Great, another lie.' _

 

\--------------

 

The day passed relatively quickly. With Judy gone Nick set about doing a few chores he'd been neglecting around his apartment, dusting, vacuuming and taking out the trash. Once that was done he went outside, specifically heading to Sahara Square and the red van parked in an alley that housed his former con partner. Standing in front of the double back door of the van he called out. "Yo Finnick, you up?"

A 30 second string of curses and swears was his response as he heard the small desert fox move around inside. A moment later one of the back doors burst open, revealing a fennec fox clad in only a pair of red and black briefs and a sour expression which he leveled at Nick. "Wilde. You better have a good reason to make me get up this early. Specially since it ain't to help me with a hustle."

Nick raised an eyebrow. "Can't a friend visit another friend on his day off?" 

Finnick growled at him. "We ain't friends. Not since you became 5-O."

Nick feigned offense. "Well fine then. I guess I'll have to find someone else to share this six pack of beer with." As he spoke Nick rustled the plastic bag he was carrying."

Finnick's eyes narrowed at that. "Better not be that weak ass imported shit you like."

Again Nick feigned offense. "It's not. But keep talking like that and you might not find out what it is."

For a few moments they locked gazes, his green eyes bearing down against Finnick's brown ones. It was an age old duel, a challenge to see who would back down first. A moment later they both dropped the act, their faces splitting into wide grins. It was Finnick who spoke next, a soft chuckle making his voice waiver slightly as he spoke. "Good to see you still have your wit, was worried they'd knocked it out of you at the academy."

Digging into the bag of booze Nick produce a still cold can of beer which he tossed to the smaller fox with a grin and a shake of his head. "Never. You know I can't help myself. It's nature. Birds fly, fish swim, Nick Wilde is a smart ass."

The desert fox grinned and popped the can open, raising it for a moment to give him a "here here," before bringing the can to his lips. Producing a second can for himself Nick moved, reaching out to pull open the second door to the van before dropping himself into the now empty space next to his former partner. 

Popping the top of his drink Nick did his best to seem casual. "So… how have you been?"

Finnick shrugged. "Fine. I make ends meet."

Nick raised an eyebrow as he took a drink. "Care to elaborate?"

Finnick turned to scowl at him, a friendly scowl but one that had true emotion behind it too. "Not really. No offense, but i'm not drunk enough to tell a cop what laws I'm planning on or am already breaking… if I were to be that is."

This time it was Nick's turn to scowl. "I wouldn't arrest you Finnick. You should know that."

Finnick shrugged. "All the same. The less you know the better."

Nick bit his lip. "You're… you're not breaking our rules… right?"

Next to him Finnick's scowl turned into a glare. "No." The single word came out dripping with a tone of warning that told Nick to tread carefully if he was going to continue this line of questions.

"Ok… good. I'm glad." It was the truth. He and Finnick had done some questionable things in their partnership. Most of those things had been just shy of actually breaking the law. But a few times they'd really toed the line, crossing into a legal grey area.  And once or twice they'd crossed it and found themselves very much in trouble with the law. It was after one of those times, when they'd both been sitting in the drunk tank in the nocturnal district that they'd come up with the rules. They weren't anything out of the ordinary, just a few common sense rules to help them stay out of trouble with the law as well as away from anything that could bring more than a weekend in lockup. "You know… if you… need help… I can give you a place to stay. I… I know-"

But finnick cut him off. "Fuck that. I got my van, she does me just fine."

He looked sideways at the desert fox. "So you sleep in your van every night? What about looters? Or hooligans? Aren't you worried?"

Finnick took another drink before shrugging. "Not really. I got the ol defender. And if I want extra security I'll park in the warehouse."

Nick's eyes widened slightly, the mention of the old building he and Finnick had bought together startling him slightly. "You'd still have that old dump?" 

Finnick nodded, taking another drink. "Yeah, it's a good place to relax."

Nick nodded silently, mentally walking through the dusty beaten up old warehouse he and Finnick had bought several years ago. They'd bought it mostly with the intention of renting it out, maybe to  mechanic or to some other kind of start up business. But they'd quickly learned it had many more uses. Several times when Nick had found himself without a home or a roof to sleep under, he'd slept there. It was an excellent place to store things that were of a questionable nature and more than once he and Finnick had held up inside it to wait for the heat to die down when a con had come back to bite them. Opening his mouth to speak Nick found himself cut off as finnick spoke abruptly.

"So, I saw Jack the other day. He drove past me on the street."

Unsure of what to say Nick nodded. "Yeah, he got back a few days ago."

Finnick raised an eyebrow. "Are you and he still… whatever the hell you two are? Butt buddies?"

Frowning at his former partner Nick's tone dropped. "Why do you have to call it that? You make it sound like something disgusting. We're sleeping together. That's it."

Finnick laughed. "No Wilde that ain't IT. When he left town last you moped around for a whole week. You'd think he'd just broken your heart."

Taking another drink from his beer Nick remained silent. It was true, the last time Jack had been called away had hurt perhaps a tiny bit more than the others times before. At the time he'd told himself it was because of the circumstances. It had been the anniversary of the day they'd met and he'd hoped to spend the whole day with the grey striped rabbit. Instead he'd woken up alone with a hastily scrawled note and a "sorry."

Next to him finnick shook his head. "I swear Wilde, you and he are like highschoolers. Fucking like rabbits one moment, then broken up, then suddenly back to fucking. It's such a headache."

Again Nick frowned, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "And again you make it sound shameful. If you have a problem with-" 

Finnick growled, pointing a finger at him. "Don't you pull that bullshit with me Wilde. I made my feelings on your predilections clear when we started working together. I don't give a flying fuck about who you fuck or who puts what where or how you feel about it. I just don't want to hear about it or be involved unless it's somehow related to me getting paid"

Nick chuckled. "Jack actually asked me if you and me had the same kind of arrangement as he and I."

Finnick grumbled and took another drink. "Not on your life Wilde. I like females."

Nick rolled his eyes. "Says the guy STILL in his underwear."

Finnick looked at him before striking a muscle pose. "And deny you a peek at the goods? Hell no." Again there was silence for a few moments before both of them began laughing again. After a few seconds though finnick continued. "I don't care what you and he do. What I DO want to know is this." Finnick fixed him with a firm stare. "How does your old butt buddy being back factor into you and certain other cottontail's relationship?"

Nick bit his lip, remaining silent for several moments. Then, softly he spoke. "They don't know about each other."

Finnick stared at him for a full 10 seconds. "Fuuuuuuuck Nick." It was a mark of how serious this was by finnick using his first name. "Neither of them knows? Like at all?"

Nick shook his head. "No. They don't even know I'm bi sexual. Judy thinks I'm straight and Jack thinks I'm gay… probably."

"Fuuuuuuck. Well the warehouse is always open for you if you need a place to hide out."

He turned to look at finnick. "Hide out? From what?"

Finnick chuckled. "The wrath of two bunnies scorned."

Again Nick frowned. "Why would they feel scorned? I didn't do anything wrong. Jack and I aren't a couple. And Judy made it very clear that she just wants to be friends with benefits. So why would either of them get mad at me?"

Finnick shrugged. "Oh I don't know Nick, maybe because you're banging both of them and didn't tell either of them. Or even tell them you swing on both sides of the fence. Even if it wasn't on purpose, it sure as fucking shit looks like you're trying to hide it."

Getting to his feet Nick turned, the paw not holding his beer going to his chest. "Hiding? I'm not trying to hide anything!" His voice went up a few octaves higher than he meant to. "Both of them said they didn't want to be more than fuck buddies. So that's what we are, JUST fuck buddies."

Finnick shrugged. "Yeah, secret fuck buddies who the other doesn't know about."

Growling Nick pointed at finnick. "What about you? How many pieces of tail do you have on the side? Do you even know their names anymore? Or is it just a parade of poon whenever the urge hits you?"

Finnick growled back at him. "Don't you turn this on me Wilde. Every girl I'm with knows I ain't exclusive. Hell they've even met a few of the others before. I'm upfront with them before anything goes further than the third drink. But you, you're banging both rabbits and it sure as shit looks like you're trying to hide it since it sounds like you've made no effort to tell either of them about it, or you." Finnick took another drink from his can. "And for that matter I gotta wonder what else you haven't told them? Do they know you used to breath the law? Does floppsy the copsy know that every time you bust some banger for possession that your mouth goes dry and your fingers twitch?"

Nick fell silent, his eyes widening. He and Finnick had worked together for a very long time. Seven years actually. In that time the small desert fox had brought up his issues with drugs exactly three times. First when they'd somehow wound up with 50 pounds of ketamine and were trying to figure out if they should dump it, sell it, or turn it in to the cops. (They'd ended up taking it to Me Big who destroyed it under his stern 'no drugs in my territory' policy) The second time was when the desert fox had found him half drugged out of his mind in a bad part of the city. And the last time when finnick had unceremoniously kicked him out the back of the van and into the waiting arms of several forced rehab warderlies. Taking several deep breaths, Nick spoke. "I'm still clean finnick. I haven't touched that stuff in five years."

Finnick nodded. "Good. But that don't mean the want isn't still there. And when the cottontail's find out about each other, AND THEY WILL AT SOME POINT; I gotta worry that the urge to fall off the wagon is gonna be pretty bad."

Again Nick took a deep breath. "What should I do then?" 

Finnick shrugged and crushed the now empty can on beer. "You do the same as you do with any con that's about to hit the fan. You get out in front of it, do your best to minimize the damage and then try not to get hit when whatever shit that's left does hit the fan." Nick remained silent, a sickening feeling blooming in his stomach. Slowly finnick got to his feet. "There's gonna be hurt feelings Nick. Ain't no way around that. Both the cottontail's are gonna be upset, but you got a knack for explaining things. Explain yourself, make them understand it wasn't on purpose, and MAYBE MAYBE when the smoke clears you might be able to salvage what you have with both of them."

 

\-------------

 

Forcing himself to take a deep breath Nick looked at his reflection in the mirror. He looked nice, not like fancy nice, but 'going to a bar to drink' nice. Jack had texted him a little while ago saying it was his turn to pick where they went, and after a bit of thought he'd decided on the 10-7 bar that a lot of cops drank at. He'd texted both Judy and jack back and they'd all agreed to meet up at about 9pm or so for an hour or two. He'd toyed with the idea of telling them about each other tonight. Maybe he could get them both drunk to help soften the blow. But he'd decided against that. As much as he didn't want to, he had to come at this head on, no shortcuts or trying to lessen it. He's enjoy tonight, having drinks with his two best friends. And then… tomorrow… he's tell them tomorrow. For now… for now he really just wanted to enjoy tonight. Taking another breath he grabbed his keys and wallet and before leaving his apartment and heading down to his car.

As he neared the parked vehicle however he paused, stopping in his tracks as he found a familiar form laying across the car hood in a vaguely seductive pose. "Jack you better not scratch or scuff my car." 

From where he was laid out on the hood jack stuck out his tongue. "I didn't."

Nick chuckled. "Good." Moving closer he watched as jack moved too, hopping down off his car to come and stand in front of him. For a moment Nick let his eyes wander Jack's form. He was wearing a simple black T-shirt, which did wonders to accent his shoulders and flat stomach. A familiar pair of tight jeans covered his legs and from the day before the array of rainbow colored studs twinkled in his ear. "You look good." 

Jack looked him up and down too, taking in the blue button up shirt and the black pants he wore. "You look good too. Delicious in fact." 

A moment later their lips met in a soft warm kiss. He'd kissed Jack hundreds of times before. Yet this time felt different. It felt… slightly wrong. Where his stomach usually twisted with lust, now it sank with an odd feeling of guilt. Hastily he broke the kiss, taking a step back from jack while rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "I… we should get going."

He was aware of Jack's questioning gaze but he did his best to ignore it, getting into the car and turning on the engine. As jack dropped himself into the passenger seat the striped rabbit spoke. "Is everything ok? Did I… say something wrong?"

Taking a deep breath Nick remained silent for several moments trying to describe what he was feeling. Kissing jack felt good, it always had. The rabbits lips were warm and soft, but also with some kind of roughness to them that was beyond attractive. Kissing him felt good, it felt right. And yet the kiss jack had just given him… it hadn't felt that way. It had felt… wrong… it had made his stomach twist like when he told a lie or was hiding something. Part of him didn't want to wait until after tonight to tell Jack and Judy about each other. It would be so much easier if they all got drunk and he told them then. But he couldn't do that, not if he wanted to do this right. Finnick had been right, this wouldn't go well. People's feelings would get hurt, there was a very real chance jack or Judy or maybe even both of them might not speak to him for a while if ever again. Bringing alcohol into that mix might help initially, but it would hurt in the long run. Taking another breath Nick shook his head, turning to look at Jack who was still watching him and waiting for an answer. "No. You didn't do anything wrong Jack. I just… I have a lot on my mind is all." It wasn't a lie, not really. But that didn't ease his mind as Jack remained silent, watching him as he threw the car in reverse and began to drive.


	6. Chapter 6

Warm water poured on him from the showerhead, cascading down his thoroughly soaked fur before dripped off him and pooling along the floor of the shower. Groaning weakly Nick shifted, leaning back so he could rest against the cool shower wall. He didn't feel well, his body ached and his head was a mess; with feelings of shame, disgust, guilt and frustration swirling around and mixing with the hangover that was doing it's best to kill him.

Things had gone fine last night. he and Judy had met Jack at one of the bars that were friendly to cops. He'd been tense then, somehow Finnick's words making him feel as if at anymore Jack or Judy would magically figure out he was sleeping with both of them and storm off or make a huge scene at the bar. That hadn't happened, and by all accounts, the three of them had had a lot of fun that night. They'd all gotten drunk, with him and Judy telling Jack several stories of some of their cases before Jack launched into a few more fake stories of him and Nick in high school (admittedly he hadn't minded the stories that much) before all three of them ended up playing pool for the next two hours before calling it a night and calling Uwuber to come and pick them all up. Everything had gone better than he'd hoped for. And yet the entire Uwuber ride home his stomach had been in guilty knots. He knew what Finnick had said was true, he was going to have to tell Jack and Judy about the other. It was only fair, he'd want to know if they were sleeping with other people.

That entire night he'd tossed and turned, his 'happy' drunken buzz turning into a pulsing headache that made him pray for death to take him. No such luck arrived though and he'd been forced to gingerly get out of bed and stagger into the bathroom and shower. And now here he say, the warm water helping to make him feel at least physically better. Jack and Judy were both still passed out, and probably would be for at least another hour. Maybe he'd make some breakfast, try to soften the blow with food. If nothing else it was something he could distract himself with until the rabbits awoke. Taking a deep breath he sighed, closing his eyes as he looked up at the ceiling of the shower. If he was being honest… he was scared. About as scared as he'd ever been in his life. He had no idea what was going to happen when he told Jack and Judy about the other. They could get mad and yell at him, that was probably the most likely scenario. They could just get up and leave and refuse to speak to him for several days, also a likely possibility. At work Judy could request to ride with someone else on her patrols, that… that would hurt. But he could understand why she might do that. Jack… Jack could do any number of things. But he had to tell them. Remaining silent wasn't an option anymore. Not if he wanted to stop these feelings of guilt that welled up in his stomach whenever he was around one of them.

Sighing again Nick reached up, blindly feeling for the faucet before turning off the shower. Getting to his feet Nick dried himself off, before pulling on his lounge clothes and exiting the bathroom. Silently he crept through the apartment. Judy was still passed out in the bedroom on her side of the bed, where he'd put her the night before. And a quick peek into the office told Nick that Jack was equally unconscious, passed out on his back on the black futon he'd been deposited into last night. Taking another deep breath Nick moved into the kitchen, pulling open the fridge and scanning its contents before pulling several items out and setting them on the counter. Cooking had always been oddly therapeutic to him. Something about the structure of it all was just calming to him. If he did steps one, two and three as he was supposed to, then the outcome was almost always guaranteed. Such a difference from life where nothing was assured or guaranteed, even if he did everything he was supposed to. 

Soon the kitchen was filled with the hissing crackling sound of cooking food as he dropped a large portion of dice potatoes into the hot pan. Slowly he worked, dropping in each new ingredient and watching as it began to mix with the others. First potatoes, then chopped carrots, then peppers and mushrooms, then-

"M… m… morning."

Looking over his shoulder Nick found that he was no longer alone. Judy had woken up and had managed to drag herself out of the bedroom and was now sitting at the bar watching him through half closed eyes. "Morning." 

He watched as she groaned, her nose twitching slightly as she sat there. "Smells good." Nodding Nick adjusted the heat, lowering it so the food wouldn't burn as he stepped away and pulled a mug down from one of the cupboards and poured his partner a cup of coffee before setting it down in front of her. A year of working with her had taught him exactly how she liked her coffee; black. She took the mug gratefully, bringing it to her lips before taking a drink of warm caffeinated liquid. A moment later she let out a soft groan, the coffee no doubt easing whatever hangover she was feeling too. "How long have you been awake?"

Nick shrugged. "An hour or so. Took a shower and then started cooking."

From where she sat Judy nodded but gave him a slightly pouty face. "You should have woke me. I would have joined you in the shower. We could have helped each other wake up."

Nick felt his stomach clench guiltily. Luckily he had a decent excuse to give Judy… for now. "Jack is in the office. I… didn't think it would be a good idea for us to fool around." It wasn't a complete lie, but that was only a small comfort. Luckily Judy seemed to buy it and didn't press it any further, instead only nodding before taking another sip of her coffee. They made light conversation for the 15 minutes or so, nothing complex just polite "how did you sleep" and "got plans today". He had just started to think about going to wake Jack when the striped rabbit appeared, groaning and looking like he'd slept on his head as he stepped out of the hallway and dropped himself down at the bar next to Judy. A moment later he leaned forward, resting his forehead against the cool laminate surface. "Fuuuuuuuck. My head HURTS." 

Smiling to himself Nick did just as he had done for Judy, pouring Jack a cup of coffee but adding a small bit of milk before setting it down in front of the striped rabbit. "Here."

Jack didn't say a word, instead grabbing the drink like a man dying of thirst before bringing it to his mouth and draining it in four large mouthfuls. Only then did he speak again, returning his forehead to the counter's cool surface. "I'll never drink again."

Despite the nervousness that had spring up now that both rabbits were awake and together Nick found himself chuckling as he refilled Jack's mug. "Jack, we both know that's not true. But maybe don't drink so much next time."

Jack groaned and looked up at him. "Hard to do when we're playing a drinking game and I keep loosing."

Nick shrugged and turned back to the pan with the food, giving it a vigorously stir. "Not my fault you suck at pool."

In response Jack grumbled something that might have been "fuck you." But Nick ignored the response, instead pulling the pan from the stovetop before doling out the now steaming omlet onto three waiting plates before grabbing forks and giving everyone their food. In response Judy smiled, offering a weak "thank you" before she started to eat. Meanwhile Jack grabbed his fork and began to eat at such a pace Nick was amazed he didn't choke on the food. For his own food Nick ate slowly, telling himself it was because he wanted to enjoy the food and it's flavors. But in reality he knew he was lying to himself. He was eating slowly in an attempt to stall what was to come. With each bite he took he drew closer and closer to the inevitable confrontation that was drawing near.

Soon all three of their plates were empty, which he took quickly and loaded them into the dishwasher. As he did so he heard Jack groan and speak. "That was delicious."

A moment later Judy chimed in, in agreement. Yet their compliments did nothing to calm him down. If nothing it made his heart beat faster, his paws shook slightly as he turned to face both of them. "I… uh… I have something I need to say… to both of you." Both Jack and Judy looked at him, their expressions curious. Taking a deep breath Nick did his best to steady his nervous. Gods he hadn't even been this nervous when he'd been going through the academy. His heart felt like it was about to burst in his chest. He could feel both rabbits eyes on him, watching him. Both of them completely unaware of what was about to happen. "I… I need you both to know… I didn't… I didn't mean… I didn't do this on purpose… I didn't… do this to hurt either of you. Ok?"

Jack stared at him confused while Judy's expression became one of worry. "Nick what are you talking about? Are you ok? What's going on?" 

He forced himself to breath, to take a long deep shuddering breath that honestly felt like it honestly might be his last. His eyes flickered from Judy's face to Jack's. Swallowing the painful lump that had formed in his throat, Nick spoke; his stomach twisting tighter and tighter with each word. "Jack… Judy… I'm sorry… I'm. sleeping with... both of you."

The moment the last word left his mouth it felt like someone had grabbed him by the throat, in a grip so tight it seemed to cut off all the air from the world to his lungs. He'd said it. He'd told them. It was out of his control now. Now that it was out there all he could do was stand there and wait. In front of him Jack and Judy were staring at him, both of them seemingly stunned. Both of them sat frozen and looking at him as if he'd grown a second head or told them he planned to run for president.

"Hehehehehehe..." The sound started out softly, a faint chuckle that quickly grew into a deep laughter that came from the male rabbit. Shifting her gaze to Jack Nick watched as the male rabbit grinned at him, still laughing as he took another sip from his cup of coffee before seeming to half choke as he continued to laugh. The laughter seemed natural, as if Jack thought he was joking. Nervously Nick's eyes flickered to Judy, finding that the female rabbit was still staring at him in a combination of shock, uncertainty and disbelief. Taking a chance Nick spoke. "J-Jack. I'm not joking."

Jack's laughter grew, making the grey rabbit actually shake with the force of the laughter. Then through the laughter Jack managed to gasp and speak. "G-gods Nick... You had me going there for a moment… so dramatic…" Jack's voice went deeper, mimicking Nick's. "I didn't mean to hurt you." His voice returned to normal a second later. "Fuck I thought you'd done something really bad. But pretending you and I have slept tog-"

In a completely calm voice Nick cut the male rabbit off. "Judy, Jack isn't my gay best friend from high school. I met him when I was 19 at a gay club." Jack's laughter died in a kind of strangled choking gasp, his eyes coming to stare at Nick who continued to speak. "Jack was the first male I ever slept with and whenever he comes back to the city we meet up." He watched as Jack's eyes widened, a silent unvoiced question of 'what are you doing?' taking another breath Nick shifted his attention to Jack. "Jack, last year Judy and I were on vacation when she went into heat. Her medication got lost at the airport though and they didn't have any where we were so… we slept together. Now we're… kinda friends with benefits… I guess." Neither rabbits said a word, instead they both continued to stare at him in shock and disbelief. For his part Nick bit his lip. He'd come this far, might as well finish. "I'm telling you this because… I can't keep sneaking around. It feels… wrong. I care about both of you and I didn't want either of you to find out some other way. I'm sorry. I'm… I'm so sor-"

"Shut up."

The sound of his partners voice made Nick's words die in his throat. His attention went to Judy and with a jolt Nick found his friend and partner was shaking. Her paws shook visibly  even as she pointed at him and spoke. Her voice low and filled with anger. "Shut the fuck up. You… you lied to me."

Trying to explain himself Nick opened his mouth. "Judy I'm s-"

"SHUT UP!" Judy's voice echoed around the room from the force of her shout. Her paw shook harder as she continued to point at him. "You lied to me. You tricked me. You… you…" her eyes narrowed in rage. "You called me homophobic!" He'd never seen Judy this mad before. Her entire body was shaking with anger, her eyes were narrowed into near slits every hair on her body had bristled and her voice sounded like that of a predator. For several seconds Judy didn't say anything more. Thinking he was safe to try and explain himself Nick opened his mouth but found himself cut off before he could even start to speak. "HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT I'VE BEEN GOING THROUGH?! I'VE BEEN TEARING MY FUR OUT FOR DAYS TELLING MYSELF THAT I HAVE NO REASON TO BE SO HOSTILE TOWARDS Jack! I'VE BEEN MAKING MYSELF FEEL LIKE SHIT BECAUSE YOU SAID THERE WASN'T ANYTHING BETWEEN YOU TWO! BUT YOU'VE BEEN FUCKING HIM THIS WHOLE TIME! YOU LIED TO MY FACE AND THEN HAD THE NERVE TO… TO…"

Judy's voice abruptly shut off, her mouth opening and closing for several seconds before it stopped. For a few seconds Judy just sat there motionless, her expression blank. Unsure of what to do Nick moved, stepping forward and reaching out to touch Judy's shoulder. "Judy… are you ok?"

A second later Judy's expression snapped back to anger. "Get away from me. Don't touch me." As she spoke he shoved his paw away. He recoiled at the venom in her voice. Instead watching as she dropped off her stool, before stomping off towards the front door. "Judy… I'm sorry."

It was pathetic and completely inadequate for the situation but it was all he could manage at the moment. He really was sorry. He hadn't meant for any of this to happen. From where she stood in front of the door Judy wheeled around and shouted at you. "FUCK YOU AND YOUR SORRY'S! YOU LIED TO ME! YOUR A POLICE OFFICER AND YOU LIED TO MY FACE! YOU DON'T DESERVE YOUR BADGE!"

a second later she was gone, the front door slamming so hard it made the wall shake. The apartment fell dead silent, so much so that for a moment Nick could hear his heartbeat pounding in his ears. His chest felt like someone had taken a knife and stabbed him. He'd expected Judy to be angry. But… that had been-

"I'm going to go too."

The sound of Jack's voice made him swallow painfully, turning to watch as the remaining rabbit slowly got down from the stool he was sitting on. "J-Jack… I-"

But Jack cut him off, his voice cold and angry. "Save it. I don't care." 

Heart still hammering in his chest Nick watched as Jack moved towards the door just as Judy had. He had to say something, he had to explain himself. "Ja-"

Jack ignored him, pulling open the front door before pausing in the doorway. "You know something Nick… you're an asshole."

Tears began to well up in Nick's eyes, the pain in his chest grew and he found he was having a hard time breathing. "J-Jack pl-please, I'm s-sor-"

But Jack cut him off the striped rabbit's voice completely devoid of any form of caring or concern. "Don't call me again. Goodbye."

A second later Jack was gone, closing the door not with a slam as Judy had done but instead almost silently. As if he'd simply vanished from Nick's life, leaving Nick completely alone in the now deafeningly silent apartment.

He stood there, his ears still ringing from the volume of Judy's shouts while his heart clenched and ached from the coldness of Jack's tone. In his head he could hear Judy's words ringing over and over and over. " _ YOU DON'T DESERVE YOUR BADGE _ !" He'd never seen her so upset. He'd seen her mad, sure. But he'd never seen her like that. Never seen her so upset that she just shut down and froze like she had done. And… to be on the receiving end of it. To be the one all that anger was directed at…

And all at once it hit him. Like a sledgehammer to his chest. That was it. His relationship with both rabbits was over. Judy would never trust him again. She was probably already requesting a different partner to work with from now on. And of course Bogo would seize the opportunity and get rid of him the very first chance he got, either him or one of the other higher ups who hadn't been thrilled about hiring a fox. There was no one left to defend him or watch his back. Judy was the star of the ZPD, practically their mascot. No one would take his side in this, they'd all side with Judy. The tears were falling faster now, trickling down the sides of his face and muzzle as his mind went into overdrive. Not only was Judy gone, but Jack was gone too. The striped rabbit had always been sparse but Nick had always thought he'd be around. But now… now he was gone too. The one person who knew more about him than anyone else. The one person he trusted beyond all others. Who he'd told things to that he hadn't told anyone else. He was gone. They were both gone. Neither of them would ever speak to him again. Neither of them would care about whatever apology he came up with. They were gone, probably hating his guys and wishing he would go die in some alley or ditch. 

His grip on the counter tightened. The pain in his chest was almost unbearable, like someone had taken a white hot knife and plunged it straight into his heart. His life was over. Judy, the one person who believed in him was gone. Jack the one person he felt he could truly confide in was gone. There was no one left. He was alone again. Completely alone and on his own with no one to care about what happened to him. This was it, every bridge he'd managed to build had just gone up in flames. It felt like the air was being sucked out of the apartment. His lungs struggled to breath, choking and gasping as he tried to stay on his feet. The feelings of guilt, shame, sorrow, isolation and pain roared in his mind as Judy's words played over and over and over in his head. It was to much. It was all to much. It felt like he was dying, like he was drowning. Without even realizing it he'd left the kitchen, half staggering down the hallway as if he were being chased by a monster. 

He'd screwed up. He'd screwed up everything. Just like he always did. Everything he touched broke. Everything he cared about died or left him. He had nothing left. Staggering into his room Nick gasped, the pain in his chest reaching a level he never thought possible. He needed this to be gone, to be over. He needed to not feel this anymore, to not feel… anything anymore. Before he ever knew what he was doing he'd pulled open his closet, grabbing his uniforms he threw them out of the way. Judy had been right, he didn't deserve the wear them. His pulled them from his closet, hurling them behind him and out of his sight until he found what he was looking for. It was there, right where he'd left it. Right where he'd known it was every second of every minute of every hour of everyday. There, so close. Tempting him. Up until now he'd been able to resist, he'd had a reason to. But now everything was ruined, Judy hated him. Jack hated him. He was going to lose his job, the apartment, he was going to go back to living on the streets and conning mammals and… he was going to become that thing that he hated and despised, again.

His paws shook as they slowly opened the metal case, his eyes scanning the contents. In that moment a new feeling joined the mix, a new emotion that somehow managed to drag him even further down that he already had been. His paws shook as they picked up the small plastic bottle which rattled as he opened it. It was all gone. Everything he'd worked for and earned felt like it was being ripped out of his chest and he'd given anything to not feel it anymore. Anything.

 

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"THAT JERK! THAT LYING SELFISH FUCKING JERK!" Judy hopps passed in her apartment, still fuming. She was mad, no; mad didn't even begin to describe what she was feeling. She was furious! He lied to her! She'd asked Nick if there was or had ever been anything between him and Jack and the red fox had lied to her her face! "FUCK!" the sound of her curse echoed off the walls of her apartment. Her heart was pounding in her chest and her skin burned and itched with energy. She wanted to hit something. She wanted to hit something or punch something or kick something until she couldn't move anymore. But as her eyes scanned the apartment for a target she found nothing suitable, so she did the only she could do. She swore again. "FUCK! FUCK! FUCKING FUCK FUCK!"

"STOP SWEARING RABBIT! WE GET IT, YOU'RE PISSED! NOW KEEP IT DOWN!"

the sound of her neighbor's voice through the wall was like dumping gasoline onto a bonfire. She launched herself across the room, shoving her face right up against a small crack in the wall before bellowing at the top of her lungs. "FUCK YOU ASSHOLE! I FUCKING HATE YOU! YOU AND YOUR FUCKING PARTNER! GO TO HELL AND JUST LEAVE ME ALONE! JUST… JUST…"

It was like someone had pulled the bed out from under her. She crumbled to the mattress in a heap, tears streaming down her face as she struggled to breathe.

 

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Again he brought the cool glass to his lips, tipping it back and draining the Amber colored liquid he'd filled it with. Just like before the liquid burned and tingled as he swallowed it, leaving his throat feeling vaguely numb as he moved to refile the glass again. As he did so he eyed the container of Amber liquid, it was half full… he'd probably need more soon. Downing that drink too Jack felt his grip on the glass tighten. For a moment his eyes darted to the black cellphone that sat on the table next to him. Never in his life had he so badly wanted it to ring and pull him away from everything. But such luck wasn't his, the phone remained silent. ' _ Damn it. _ ' he drained the glass again before setting it down on the table. He'd figured Nick would have other partners. He was too good looking, sexy and intelligent to not. If he was being honest he's never really worries about the idea of Nick sleeping with other males. Anything another male could do he could do better; and somewhere in the back of Jack's mind was some half cocked fantasy about his seducing Nick away from any male he might have grown attached to after he retired from the agency. But now…

"Fuck."

Forgetting the glass this time Jack brought the bottle to his lips, drinking several mouthfuls of alcohol before setting it down. He was starting to feel numb, that helped. It helped not to think straight, it helped him stay mad, it helped him to not think about everything he'd lost. "DAMN IT!"

a second later the glass he'd been drinking from before exploded, shattering into hundreds of glass shards as it crashed against the wall. "DAMNITDAMNITDAMNITDAMNIT!"

He was on his feet now, the anger in his stomach boiling and making him burn with energy. His focus went to the walls, several photos of him and Nick lining the surface. He grabbed the first one; a photo of him and Nick in the park laughing and smiling, ripping it off the wall and hurling it against the opposite wall where it too exploded. The next one he broke over his knee. The third he hurled against the ground. The fourth, fifth and sixth ones followed in rapid succession. The seventh one he broke with his own paw, slamming his fist into the smiling photo of him and Nick at the club that they'd taken on their one year 'anniversary'. The anger was thinning now, leaving him drained and upset. Leaning against the wall Jack panted, looking back at the trail of destroyed photos that lined the floor. Against his will his eyes went to the wall, noting how barren it had become without the frame.


	7. Chapter 7

"Stevens, you and Riggs have Sahara Square. Marco and Dawson you have tundra town. Hopps… where's Wilde?" 

The mention of Nick's name made Judy grind her teeth while her eyes narrowed in anger. "Who gives a shit?"

The chief stared at her for a moment but seemed to know better than to push it. Instead choosing not to comment before returning to his roster. "Can't assign you a route without a partner. I'm sorry, you're on parking duty. DISMISSED."

Still grinding her teeth in anger she left the briefing room, storming through the hallway in cold fury. Great, just fucking great. Now because of him she had been assigned parking duty. Just fucking GREAT! She grabbed the keys to the joke-mobile from the motor pool, nearly ripping the young leppard behind the counter a new asshole when he asked for her signature. The day only maintained its level of bullshit from there. Every ticket she wrote she was forced to listen to some sob story or some excuse. By the time lunch rolled around she was about 5 seconds away from snapping someone's neck. Lunch helped a bit, getting a slice of pizza and cold soda gave her something else to focus on. As she sat at the outside Cafe and ate her food she did her best to try and not think about Nick, to try and push all thoughts of the red fox from her mind. But try as she might she found it to be impossible. 

She felt anger and resentment bubble inside her stomach as her mind mocked her, constructing a scene of Nick and Jack in the throws of passion while laughing at her. Their imaginary laughter only made her angrier, her paw clenching into a fist so suddenly that it crushed the pretzel sticks she'd been holding. ' _ Get it together Judy. Never let them see that... _ '

Her mind trailed off as she realized what she'd been about to say. Unconsciously her eyes drifted to the empty seat next to her, the seat usually filled by Nick. Normally they'd be laughing and chatting with her telling him some story about her childhood or him telling her about one of the cons he and Finnick had run back in the day. They told each other everything. And yet…

"Damn it."

 

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He felt exhausted. His body ached and his ears were ringing, sweat had long since drenched his fur but still he kept dancing. He forced himself to keep going, to try and lose himself in the music and the crowd of the club like he'd done so many times before. All around him other mammals danced and partied too, each of them a potential interest; at least for tonight. That's what he needed, he'd decided that this morning as he'd struggled with his hangover. He needed a good fuck or maybe a few. That would make him feel better. As he danced he scanned the club, looking for a male who interested him. He could pretty much pick whoever he wanted, most of them were predators and would probably jump at the chance to sleep with a rabbit. He'd find someone interesting, drag them off somewhere, fuck their brains out and then… everything would be fine again.

But as he scanned the crowd Jack felt his hopes drop a little. There was just no one interesting in the club. Not to say there weren't any attractive males, there were; but none that stood out in kind of meaningful away. A large Kodiak bear sat at the bar, several wolves and other canids were cutting up the dancefloor, a few smaller species were partying at a nearby table, otters and mice and a ferret. Up on the second floor there were no doubt others to choose from, but at the moment he was finding it hard to even care. There was just no one ' _ Like nick. _ '

That thought made him freeze. Yes it was true Nick had been… special. The first time he'd seen the red fox at the club he'd known instantly that the predator was a bit out of his depth. The way he'd nervously made his way through the crowd, trying to appear nonchalant but gave away his nerves by his tail which he kept tight against his leg. It had been clear that the red fox was unsure of himself. Maybe that's what had made him catch Nick's eye. He could remember being that way when he'd first come to club. He could remember feeling nervous and a little scared, unsure of what to do or how to act. He'd felt a little sorry for the red fox, so he'd caught the foxes eye. Doing his best to seduce the newcomer with his dancing so as to give the younger fox an out. And as it turned out-

A moment later he shook his head, forcing his thoughts away. He wasn't here to think about Nick. He was here to get drunk and horny and fuck until he couldn't think or walk straight. 

 

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The moment the beer was placed in front of her she grabbed it, barely noticing how it tasted as she brought it to her lips and tipped it back; draining the entire mug in four large mouthfuls. "ANOTHER." 

The ram who had brought her the drink looked at her, his eyes flickering to clawhauser who sat next to her; clearly trying to get the cheetah to weigh in. Growling Judy slammed her palm onto the table. "I SAID, BRING ME ANOTHER."

at the sound of the loud bang the ram jumped slightly, quickly grabbing her now empty glass before scurrying away. Next to her Judy heard clawhauser speak. "Judy… that's you're fourth one tonight. Don't you think you're overdoing it a little?"

She turned to look at him, noting as she did so that the edges of her vision were a tad bit more blurry then she'd expected them to be. But that didn't stop her from pointing her finger at her drinking buddy. "I'm not drunk. This beer is nothing, I grew up in the country. We had moonshine! Besides… I wouldn't mind being wasted right now. Might make me feel better."

She watched as clawhauser sighed softly. "No it wouldn't Judy. You know that."

She growled and ran her paw over her ears. "I don't know anything, apparently. I couldn't even tell that my best friend and partner was fucking a guy behind my back!" The last few words she said a bit louder than she meant to, loud enough to make a few other patrons at the bar look at her funny. She met their gazes, practically daring one of them to say something, to give her an outlet for what she was feeling. After a few moments they went back to their drinks and she deflated in the booth seat, her shoulders slumping. "How could he? How could he do this to me?"

Next to her Ben frowned slightly. "You make it sound like he did this on purpose, Judy. I'm sure he didn't mean to hurt you like this."

She chuckled darkly. "Maybe. Or maybe he just thought it was funny to string the dumb bunny along."

The ram returned with another glass of beer which she quickly took, noting how almost instantly the ram was moving away from her. Downing this drink too she paused for several seconds, allowing the alcohol to sting and tingle as it went down her throat. Next to her Clawhauser took advantage of the silence, speaking to her. "Judy, Nick would never do that. You know him. He'd ne-"

She growled. "No, apparently I don't know him. At all. I thought I could trust him. I thought he was my friend and partner. But no-"

Ben cut her off, his voice sharper than before. "Judy..." 

She turned to glare at him. "What?"

She watched as the cheetah fixed her with a firm gaze. "Nick is still your partner and your friend. None of this changes that."

She huffed in annoyance. "Then why did he do this? Why didn't he tell me off of this before?"

Clawhauser sighed. "It's not that simple Judy and you know it. A person's sexuality… it's not like he woke up one day and thought to himself 'I think I'll give cock a try'. It's not like that."

Leaning back in the booth Judy took a deep breath. "Then why don't you explain it to me professor. Because I'm finding it very hard to understand why he would lie and hide this from me."

Again clawhauser sighed. "I can't explain it all. I'm not Nick. But… if figuring out his sexuality was anything like what I went through… his school life must have been miserable."

She remained silent, in her mind she could recall asking him once about his highschool days. At the time he'd played the question off, laughing and making some smartass remark before Changing the subject. At the time she hadn't thought much of it. Now though…

Next to her clawhauser continued. "He's probably been struggling with this for a long time. Trying to compartmentalize and separate these parts of his life and keep them from interacting as much as possible. I mean you've seen how private Nick can be. Remember when wolfford asked him about his family? He refused to talk about it, and almost bit wolfford's head off when he pressed the subject." That was true. Nick could be an open book about many things. Sometimes even on subjects that others might not have been so open about. But on other subjects Nick was bazzarly private, never discussing or else discussing very little those few topics. She felt her stomach twist a little uncomfortably. "I know you probably don't want to hear it Judy… but I don't think you can really fault Nick for what's happened. I mean he's not blameless but… I don't think you should be as mad as you are."

She looked at him. "How do you figure?"

Clawhauser sighed again. "He lied, yes. I won't deny that that was wrong. But… what if he was scared of how you'd react? I mean think about it. You're his best friend. You got him out of his old life. You helped him become a police officer. You two spend so much time together and have this relationship… Judy you're probably one of the most if not THE most important person in his life. I'll bet he was terrified to tell you about this. For all he knew this would make you think less of him, or worse that you'd hate him."

Again Judy's stomach twisted. She hadn't thought of that. "But still… Ben… he should have told me sooner. I mean, we… we're partners. He should have told me before all of this. Or when Jack first showed up. He should have said something."

Clawhauser nodded. "I agree Judy. And I'm not saying what he did was ok, it wasn't. But… you keep asking me why he did this. Did you ever bother to ask him? He may have been doing this to try and protect you. So he compartmentalize and tried to keep everything separate, he built a house of emotional cards. And now… well I have to worry that it's crumbling around him. You said Jack seemed angry too?"

She nodded, taking another sip from her drink. Yes Jack had seemed just as upset as she was. As she'd left the apartment she'd heard him yelling too. At the time she'd taken pleasure from it. Some small solace that she wasn't the only one who's been lied too. But now…

"Did you know?"

Her voice was low as she turned to look at clawhauser. "Huh?"

She took a breath, forcing herself to remain calm. "Did you know he liked males? You're gay, you can tell right? Did you know?"

Clawhauser was silent for several moments, taking a sip of his own drink. "Do you really want to know?"

Taking a deep breath Judy nodded. "Yes. I want to know."

Clawhauser took another sip of his beer before responding. "I… wondered. He was always so private about his past relationships. He NEVER talked about them. Plus… once or twice in the showers… I'd notice his eyes wandering a little. Never thought much of it though. Everyone's eyes wander a little. And everyone has relationships they want to leave in the past. But… I always wondered… if maybe. But then I saw the way he looked at you, how his tail and ears would bush up and how he'd smile at you. So I thought, 'no. He likes Judy. You're just reading too much into things'. "

For several moments Judy remained quiet, processing what clawhauser had said. As she did so her stomach twisted painfully with a twinge of guilt. "Damn it, I need another drink."

 

\----------

 

Holding his breath Jack took aim at his target, a large cutout of a fox carrying some kind of weapon. A moment later he pulled the trigger, his weapon firing nine shots which hit the target exactly where he'd been aiming. Lowering his weapon Jack pressed the red button at his hip, watching as the target began to move towards him so he could check his score. He didn't need to, he was a master marksman, even so the sight of the nine bullet holes clustered around the targets crotch did bring him a tiny bit of satisfaction. Even if it was out of Petty spite. 

"It would be nicer if you just put one in his head."

The cool female voice from behind him made him turn. He wasn't alone in the firing range anymore. A thin, tall and admittedly attractive arctic fox had appeared behind him, a gun case held under her arm and an amused smile covering her face. In response to her comment Jack shrugged. "Maybe he deserves it."

The Arctic fox shrugged as well. "Maybe."

Jack remained silent, watching as his friend and colleague moved to the empty firing booth next to his before setting her case down. "What are you doing here so early Skye?"

Skye shrugged, opening her case and producing a small handheld submachine gun which she began to inspect. "I could ask you the same thing Jack. A bit early for training isn't it?"

Jack bit his lip, turning back to his own booth and moving to reload his weapon. "Had a lousy night last night. Thought I'd come here and blow off some steam." That wasn't a lie. Last night had been bad. He'd ended up being approached by one of the wolves from the dancefloor and had practically dragged the canid into the bathroom for what was probably the fastest lay he'd ever had. He was pretty sure the timber wolf hadn't even last a full minute before his climax. In the end he'd left the wolf in the stall, shaking and panting barely able to stand up while he had gone home still angry, hurt and now unsatisfied. Taking another breath Jack raised his weapon, watching as another target popped up. He took aim, readying himse-

"A bad night huh? That have anything to do with Nick Wilde?"

His shot went wide, completely missing the target, instead burying itself in the wall at the back of the range. His head snapped in the direction of Skye's voice. "Wh-what?"

From the other booth Skye chuckled. "Oh Jacky…" a moment later thunder ripped through the range as Skye fired her weapon at her target. From where he stood Jack watched as the cutout of a tiger with a knife was reduced to Swisscheese in a matter of seconds. As the last round left her gun Skye continued. "We can track a terrorist in the middle of a bum fuck ass backwards no-where village that no one has ever heard of with a degree of error within 10 feet. Do you really think the agency doesn't know where you go or what you do with your time off or who you do it with?"

His mouth had suddenly gone very dry. "Are you spying on me Skye?"

He didn't have to see the fox to know she was smiling. "Not at all Jack. Just keeping tabs on you. So what did Wilde do to upset you?"

Jack remained silent for a moment, trying to decide how much to tell the Arctic fox. "He… he lied to me. And hid things from me."

From the other booth Skye chuckled. "Is that all? You lie and hide things from him all the time."

Jack frowned at the wall of the booth. "That's different."

"No it's not." Skye's response was sharp and firm. "A lie is a lie. You're mad that he lied to you? Tough shit, you've been lying to him. So to get mad about it makes you a hypocrite."

Stepping back from the firing booth Jack stepped around the wall so he could talk to Skye face to face. "He lied about sleeping with someone. A female."

In front of him Skype ejected the spent magazine of her gun. "And that doesn't make you a hypocrite how?"

Jack ran his paw over his ears. "It's different! I lie for national security. He lied because… because… I DON'T KNOW WHY!"

He watched as Skye turned to look at him for a moment, her icy blue eyes staring at him intently. "Sometimes you're a bit to dumb for your own good Jack."

He blinked at her, caught unexpectedly by her comment. "How so?"

Skye shook her head incredulously. "You really don't know why he lied to you Jack? It's because he cares about you. Because he didn't want to hurt you. He knew you'd be upset and that you'd taken badly, so he tried to spare you these feelings."

Jack narrowed his eyes. "Then why tell me? Why not just keep lying?"

Skye shrugged again. "Maybe he reached a point where keeping up the lie was hurting him."

At that Jack felt his insides twist uncomfortably. He knew first hand how hard it could be to juggle multiple lives and identities. And unlike him, Nick didn't have the agency to help him keep everything straight. All Nick had was his witts, cunning and sheer force of will. Holstering his weapon Jack sighed deeply. "But… still… he lied to me."

Skye nodded. "And then he told you the truth. He could have kept on lying but he told you the truth. Doesn't that count for something?" At this Jack remained silent. Did it? In front of him Skye loaded another magazine into her gun. "You know something Jack, as a spy we get really good at lying. So good we can even lie to ourselves and believe it. We think we're invulnerable. So when something like this happens it shakes us to our core. Ask yourself something, why does it bother you so much? You lie and get lied to all the time. So why does this one lie bother you?"

When he didn't respond Skye brought her weapon up, pulling the trigger again filling the range with thunderous fire. 

 

\----------

 

"He what?!"

Judy sighed and shifted into a more comfortable position on her bed. "You heard me Jill. He slept with another rabbit… a buck."

There was silence on the other end of the line for several seconds before Jill responded. "Damn. Never expected that."

Judy sighed and nodded to herself. "Y-yeah."

Another few moments of silence before, "So I take it you and he never discussed being polyamorus with your relationship?"

Judy rolled her eyes. "No Jill, we didn't. We never discussed anything like this. We don't really talk about… what we are."

A tone of uncertainty crept into Jill's voice. "Judy… what exactly are you and Nick? Boyfriend/girlfriend? Pair bonded? Rut buddies?"

Judy closed her eyes. "I don't know."

The tone of uncertainty in Jill's voice grew. "But Nick knows you like him… right?" Judy didn't respond. Several seconds later Jill sighed. "Judy!"

Frowning Judy glared at her ceiling. "What? I'm not allowed to be mad that he was fucking some buck behind my back and lying to me about it?!" 

She could practically hear the eyeroll in her sister's response. "Not if he doesn't know that's what he's doing."

Judy growled into the receiver. This was not the way she had wanted the conversation to go. "So I should just forgive him for lying to me and sleeping with someone else?" 

Jill remained silent for several seconds before responding. "That's not what I'm saying Judy. You have a right to be upset. But… it seems kind of unfair."

Judy felt her grip on the phone tightened, thin plastic creaking slightly under the pressure. "Care to explain that?" 

Jill sighed again. "You're mad because he wasn't honest with you, right? But you did the same thing to him. You weren't honest with him about how you felt."

This time it was Judy's turn to roll her eyes. "It's not that simple Jill. He's my best friend and my partner on the force. I can't just walk up to him and say, 'I like you as more than a friend or partner'."

Jill's response came a moment later. "Then why are you acting like that's what happened? Judy… you never told Nick you liked him. If he didn't know, then why wouldn't he try to find someone who liked him in that way?"

Judy bit her lip. "I-"

But Jill cut her off. "Judy, tell me. Right now, complete honesty, no bullshit. Do you love Nick?"

Judy's throat went dry. "I… y-yes."

Jill's tone changed slightly. "Then you need to go to him and tell him that TO HIS FACE. Because until you do, you're being unfair. You can't hold someone to a standard and not tell them about it. You can't treat Nick like a mate who cheated on you if you're not mates. He lied, yeah. But so did you. And now your pissed at him even though you're still not being honest with him."

Judy felt something inside her snap, her grip on the phone tightened. "He said he wanted to be like me! To be a cop and uphold the law! How could he lie to me about this!?"

Jill's response came a second later. "Because you're doing the exact same thing to him. Look at it from another perspective Judy. If you weren't in love with him, would you care? Would it bother you that he's banging some buck?"

Judy blinked. "What?"

Jill's tone was stern. "Answer the question Judy. If you didn't love Nick would you care that he's sleeping with some buck?"

Judy squirmed on her bed. "I don't know…"

Jill's voice remained stern and unyielding. "Judy..." 

She sighed, taking a deep breath while pressing her free paw to her eyes. "No, probably not."

Jill's tone softened. "So then tell me. Besides lying to you, what did he do wrong if he thought that was the case?"

Judy remained silent for several seconds trying to come up with an answer. The seconds ticked by each one making her try harder and harder to find some other thing Nick had done besides lie to her that warranted her anger. After a minute Jill spoke. "Exactly Judy. So go to him, tell him how you feel. That way you're both being honest."

A moment later the line disconnected, leaving Judy alone with the growing feeling of regret in the pit of her stomach. 

 

\----------

 

Sighing deeply Jack ran his paw over his ears. Why was he so nervous about this? It was a phone call, just a phone call. And yet as he held the phone in his paw it shook slightly. What would he say? Would Nick even pick up the phone? Should he even be doing this over the phone or should he be going to Nick's apartment? The questions swirled around his mind until he was almost numb with anxiety. ' _ come on, you can do this.  _ '

Through sheer force of will he made his thumb move, slowly punching in Nick's number before bringing the device up to his ear. The sound of the ring made his heart nearly jump into his throat. The sound of each ring felt unnatural, drawn out, as if somehow it was 10 times longer than it usually was. One ring, ' _ ok, maybe he's not near a phone. _ ' two rings, ' _ maybe he's in the bathroom _ '? Three rings, ' _ he might not be home _ '. Four rings, ' _ he knows it's you and he doesn't want to talk to you _ '. A moment later Nick's cool voice came through the receiver. "Yo it's Wilde. You missed me but that's cool, leave a message and I'll call ya back… for $5. Ha! Just kidding." A soft electronic tone sounded a moment later signalling Jack to leave his message. Instantly his heartbeat jumped, making his paw shake and his skin itch and burn with nerves. His mouth opened and closed several times before managing to make a few words come out. "Nick… it's… it's Jack… I… uh… look I… I just-" but he found the rest of his words cut off by the machine which beeped again signalling he'd reached the limit of his message length. As the line went dead Jack lowered the phone before shakily setting it on the table next to him. 

Cold dread had settled in the pit of his stomach and now made him feel vaguely sick as he ran his shaking paws over his face. Suddenly he was aware of just how alone he was, how silent his apartment was, and how he'd been here all day and no one had reached out to him. His eyes went to the walls that had once been decorated with the now destroyed photos of him and Nick. Now they were completely blank, not a single trace of any relationship of friend anywhere. The cold feeling of dread grew as he looked around his apartment. Everything was clean, virtually spotless, with not a single item out of place. But as his eyes scanned the furniture he found no signs of personality, no traces of anyone actually living here. He could walk out of the city tomorrow and if someone where to enter his apartment they would have no idea who he was. It was like he didn't even exist. Nick had been his only real friend. The only person who even called him or emailed him. The only person who made him feel wanted. And now… now Nick was gone… 

 

\-----------

 

Judy hopps sighed as she threw the microwave carrot meal she'd just heated, away. She'd been hungry when she'd put it in the machine, but the smell of the highly processed carrots had soured her appetite and left her with very little desire to eat. Turning away from her little makeshift kitchen she tried to decide what she wanted to do. It was Monday night, usually she and Nick would be on the phone taking by now, laughing about something that had happened during the day or making plans for the weekend. But now-

But her thoughts were cut off as the door to her apartment exploded open, swinging violently before slamming against the wall with a bang that sounded like a gunshot. For a moment she stood there stunned, half expecting to see an elephant or a larger mammal standing there. Instead…

"F-finnick? Wha-"

But finnick cut her off. The small fox's voice filled with an anger she'd never heard before. "SHUT UP!" Her voice died in her throat and she recoiled slightly as his furious gaze fell on her. Then a new sound, the sound of scrambling feet met her ears. Finnick's attention moved, going to something on the other side of the door. "Where do you think you're going Jackass? Get back here!"

"Ow! Ow! Ow! OW!"

Judy's eyes widened as Finnick moved, dragging a struggling Jack into view by his ears before angrilly throwing the grey and black striped rabbit into the apartment. "Now then," Judy's attention went back to finnick who had fixed her with a glare that put the ones Bogo had given her over the years to shame. "WHAT. THE. FUCK. DID. YOU. TWO. ASSHOLES. DO. TO. NICK?!"

Judy blinked, looking at Jack who was rubbing the base of his ears tenderly before looking back at the small dessert fox. "Wh-what do you mean? What's happened?" In the back of her mind she dreaded the answer, her mind rapidly building a number of scenes that started with Nick getting shit faced drunk before being hit by a car and then just got progressively worse from there. She felt her heart clench painfully with guilt. She should have called him. She'd been putting it off all day, trying to think of what to say when she did call. Finnick glare swept both her and Jack who had slowly gotten to his feet. 

"I'll tell you what fucking happened. Nick is gone. THATS WHAT FUCKING HAPPENED!"


	8. Chapter 8

Judy felt as if her heart had stopped. Finnick's words sent chills racing through her spine. "G-gone? What do you mean gone?"

Finnick glared at her. "There some secret meaning they teach you in cop school flopsy? GONE, as in not there. So I'll ask you both again and then I'm gonna beat it out of you. WHERE THE FUCK IS NICK?!" swallowing painfully Judy glanced to Jack who looked just as confused and worried as she did. The grey and black rabbit had stopped rubbing his ears and now appeared to be frozen where he stood. "I'M WAITING."

The sound of Finnick's voice pulled her attention back to the small desert fox who was glaring daggers at her. "I… I don't k-know. I haven't seen Nick since… Sunday..." Her voice trailed off. Next to her Jack nodded, indicating the same for him. 

In front of them Finnick growled, his teeth showing as he did so. "Fucking great. So he's got a three day head start to wherever the fuck he is. Fucking great."

It was then that Jack spoke, his voice slightly strained. "I tried to call him yesterday… but he didn't answer his phone."

Finnick rolled his eyes. "Good for you. Now fuck off."

Judy watched as Finnick turned away from them and began to walk away from them and back down the hallway. "H-hey wait!"

He stopped and turned to look back at them. "What?" Judy bit her lip, squirming where she stood before glancing to Jack. When she didn't say anything immediately Finnick growled again. "Listen cottontails. I ain't got time for your highschool courtyard love triangle three-way bullshit. Nick might be lounging on some rooftop in the sun somewhere or he could be in real trouble. And until I know for sure I'm going to continue with this same sunny disposition. So either get your asses in gear and help me search for him or shut up and let me get to it."

Swallowing nervously Judy opened her mouth but found that Jack beat her to it. "I'm coming with you." She felt Jack's gaze turn to her. "You too?"

She nodded. "y-yeah."

In front of them Finnick nodded. "Fine. Let's go then."

Hurrying to catch up to the small fox Judy's mind went into police mode. She and Nick had been asked to help find missing mammals before, even after the nighthowler case. Although in those instances it was usually a cub who'd wandered off from his mother or an elderly person who had walked away and gotten confused. "I want to go to Nick's apartment first."

As they crowded into the elevator Finnick shook his head. "I already checked there flopsy. Nick ain't there and he didn't leave any note or message about where he was going."

This time it was Judy who shook her head. "No, I wanna see if anything is missing. It might give us some clue as to where he's gone." Next to her Jack nodded in agreement and Finnick growled. 

"Fine. Let's go."

 

\--------

 

Jack savage felt like his heart was going to burst out of his chest. His fingers had long since gone numb from how tightly he was gripping the dash and his seat. He was use to stressful situations, in fact he liked to think he was a bit of an expert in them. Once he's even defused a bomb on the wing of a plane WHILE it was in the air. But what he had just experienced… had probably cost him 10 years of his life expectancy, would require months of therapy to get over and may have just left him with a permanent fear of fire hydrants now. Next to him Judy spoke in a shaken and alarmed voice. "Y-y-you just broke…. EVERY traffic law on the books!"

From the driver's seat Finnick rolled his eyes and shut of his vans engine. "Don't be dramatic with me flopsy. I only broke 27 traffic laws and you know it. I totally signaled to that guy I was merging."

"TWO SECONDS BEFORE YOU DID!"

Finnick didn't respond but instead climbed down and out of the van. Forcing himself to move Jack slowly reached down for the door handle and pushed the door open, dropping onto the ground which was thankfully solid. Behind him Judy got out of the vehicle two, all three of them quickly making their way to Nick's apartment. Watching as Finnick unlocked the door Jack braced himself for what he might find. But as the door swung open he found that the preparation was for nothing, the apartment inside looked the same as it had when he'd left earlier that week. Slowly he moved inside, his training kicking in as he scanned the entry. No signs of a struggle or a cover-up so it seemed unlikely that Nick had been grabbed or attacked. Next to him Judy moved, pulling open the small closet next to the entryway before calling out to them. "His Jacket and hat are still here."

Jack nodded in response. If those had been missing it might indicate Nick had gone somewhere cold, perhaps tundra town or arctic ridge. But if they were still here that would seem to indicate Nick wouldn't need them wherever he was going. ' _ Which just leaves 90% of the city left. _ '

From the doorway where he was leaning and watching them Finnick rolled his eyes. "I told you, I already checked the apartment. The only thing out of place is in the bedroom. "

Both rabbits turned to look at him. "The bedroom?" Judy's voice was low and uncertain.

Finnick nodded towards the hallways that led there. "Go see for yourself. I assume you both remember where it is."

Ignoring the small dig at them Jack fell in line behind Judy, both of them making their way down the hallway and towards the half closed doorway that led to the bedroom. When they reached it Judy pushed the door open all the way, revealing the mess inside. Jack's eyes widened as he found clothes, no not clothes; Nick's uniforms strewn around the floor. As if they'd been pulled from his closet and thrown about in anger. Nothing else appeared to be out of place though. Nothing appeared to have been moved or taken, nothing was broken or showed any signs of tampering. It was as if Nick had walked into his room, thrown his uniforms into the air and then walked out. His attention went to the closet, and the gap in the clothes that the absence of Nick's uniforms had made. His eyes narrowed as he spotted something, a small slat of wood that appeared to be facing the wrong way. It's grain moving in the opposite direction from the other slats around it.

Moving forward Jack leaning in closer. There was definitely something here. Running his paw along the seams he felt the tip of one of his claws catch some barely visible crack, allowing him to pull the entire slat off the wall to reveal a small space behind it. For a moment Jack found himself slightly surprised. He had a similar hiding spot in his apartment, a place to hide sensitive information if he ever needed to. But why would Nick have one too? Behind him Judy spoke. "What is it?"

Jack shifted his attention from the wooden slat in his hand to the hiding spot he'd uncovered. The little space wasn't empty. Reaching in Jack pulled pulled out the only item inside the cuby, a wad of cash held together by a rubber band. "It's a hiding place. This was in it."

Turning Jack handed the money to Judy who stared at it for a moment before removing the band and fanning it out. After a couple seconds she looked up at him. "There's $1500 here."

Jack raised an eyebrow, his gaze going to the desert fox who was watching them from the doorway. "Any reason Nick would have a spare $1500 in a hiding spot?"

Finnick shrugged. "Off the grid money. I have some too. For when something goes wrong and we need to lay low."

Jack looked to Judy who nodded. "Nick's mentioned it before."

"Fair enough." Shrugging Jack had been about to turn back to the closet when something caught his eye. The carpet in Nick's bedroom was a dark brown color, but…

Moving forward Jack knelt down, his paw reaching under the bed to find the small glint of orange that had caught his attention. After a few seconds of blind searching Jack felt his paw land on something hard and plastic. Pulling the item out from under the bed Jack found himself holding what appeared to be a prescription bottle. Turning the empty bottle over in his paw Jack raised an eyebrow as he found no label. "Does Nick take any kind of medication?" 

As he spoke Jack looked to Judy who shook her head. "N-no, not that I know of. Why, what is it?"

Jack turned, holding up the bottle for Judy to see. But it was Finnick who drew his attention, the small Sandy fox letting out an audible growl as he stepped forward. "Give that here." Doing so Jack's ears perked as he heard the small fox mutter under his breath. "Swear to lion Christ Wilde if you..." Finnick brought the bottle to his nose, sniffing the inside before wrinkling his face in disgust. For a few moments Finnick was silent, the small fox's eyes closed and Jack could tell whatever had been inside the bottle-

"DAMN IT! DAMNITDAMNITDAMNITDAMNIT!" The rage coming from the small Sandy fox was astounding. His teeth gnashed together angrily and a moment later he hurled the empty plastic bottle against the wall where it exploded into a dozen small shards. "FUCK! GOD FUCKING DAMN IT YOU STUPID FOX! FUCKINGFUCKFUCK!"

Judy felt her fur prickle at Finnick's reaction. "Finnick… what's going on?"

The small fox looked at her. "Nick just fell off the wagon."

Judy frowned at Finnick, her eyes darting to Jack to find an equally confused look on his face. "Fell off the wagon? What do you mean?"

But Finnick shook his head, turning to leave the room. "Nevermind it. We need to find Wilde no-"

But the rest of his words were cut off as Jack moved, his longer legs easily outpacing Finnick's shorts ones; allowing him to reach the bedroom door which he closed sharply before moving to stand between it and Finnick. "No. We're not going anywhere until you tell us what's going on. What was in that bottle?"

Finnick growled and pointed threateningly at the striped rabbit. "Get out of my way rabbit."

Jack shook his head, fixing Finnick with a firm gaze. "Not until you tell us what's going on. You know something, and you're going to tell us."

Finnick glared back at him. "Don't ask questions that don't concern you. Now get out of my way."

Jack snarled and took a step towards Finnick. "IT CONCERNS ME! IF NICK IS IN TROUBLE IT CONCERNS ME! NOW IT'S YOUR TURN TO ANSWER MY QUESTIONS! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!?"

Finnick looked from Jack to Judy before rolling his eyes. "Fine, but I'm only going to say this once. And your first instinct is going to be to ask me a bunch of questions; don't. They're not my questions to answer. Got it?"

Jack nodded. "Got it."

Finnick turned to look at Judy. "You too flopsy. Got it?"

Swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat she nodded. In front of her she watched as Finnick took a deep breath before continuing to speak. "Nick… is a recovering drug addict." Judy's heart stopped, her blood running cold at those words. A drug addict? Nick? That couldn't be the truth, but the dead serious tone in Finnick's voice left no room for a mistake. "When he and I worked together he kept it mostly under control. But it got worse and finally I told him either he cleaned up his act or our partnership was over. He ended up going to rehab and got clean but the temptation was always there." Finnick jerked his head towards the broken shards of the pill bottle. "Nick's drug of choice was a little black pill called Oblivion. It's… it's bad… really bad. We need to find him. He could be in A LOT of trouble."

Judy felt her stomach twist painfully. In front of her Jack seemed to be processing what they'd just been told. After several seconds the striped rabbit spoke in a forcibly calm voice. "Addicts have patterns. Places they like to go when they're high. Where would Nick go?"

Finnick shook his head. "Fuck if I know. I don't do drugs so I have no idea where he would go. But… we need to find him, and soon. Oblivion… it's scary strong. Even when he had a tolerance it would leave him out of it for 12 to 18 hours. I have no idea how many pills were in that bottle. He might be on the moon right now, so high he thinks he can hear colors and taste sounds and that if he jumps off a bridge he could fly. We need to find him."

Jack looked to Judy. "Could we call the police? He's been missing for more than 24 hours, we could file a report and have officers out looking for…"

But Jack's voice trailed off as Judy shook her head. "W-we can't." 

Finnick's head snapped in her direction, his voice sharp and angry. "What?! Why the fuck not? That's the best idea I've heard all week."

But again Judy shook her head. "If we do that… we'll have to tell them that Nick is a drug addict. The ZPD doesn't allow people with drug problems to work as officers, there's too much risk. If we call the police, they'll find out about Nick, they'll take his badge and throw him off the force."

From where he stood in front of the door Jack nodded. "Ok, so we're on our own. Now think, we might not know where Nick went but… could we figure out where he's not?" As he spoke Jack looked back to Finnick. "What exactly does this Oblivion do? Like it gets Nick high, but how?"

Finnick shrugged. "I'm not a chemist, I don't know for sure. But… the few times I saw him… it makes him sensitive. Physical things like hot and cold are stronger and can become painful really fast."

Jack nodded. "So Nick would probably avoid extreme climate zones. So that rules out tundra town, Sahara Square and the rainforest district. What else?"

Finnick frowned in thought. "I… I don't know. He gets sensitive to sounds, anything loud or scary is almost overwhelming to him."

This time Judy nodded. "So he wouldn't go to the city center or any of the major population areas. They'd be to loud."

Finnick nodded and Jack shifted, crossing his arms and tapping his foot. "So Nick would most likely go to a moderate climate area without a lot of people. That could be… the Plains District… or Fields Folly?" Judy bit her lip, wracking her brains trying to figure out what to do. The logic made sense. But with Nick being possibly as high as Finnick had said, would Nick even know what was going on around him? "Ok, here's what we're gonna do." Jack's voice cut through her thoughts making her look up at him. "Finnick and I will take the Plains District, it's the biggest of the two so we need the extra body. Judy you search fields folly. Everyone give each other your cell numbers, if you find Nick call us." Nodding the trio stayed for a moment longer, exchanging numbers and making sure they all worked before heading out.

As they left the apartment Judy caught sight of Jack's face and in that instant knew he was thinking the same thing she was.

' _ Nick, please be ok. _ '

 

\----------

 

The plains District was on the outskirts of the city, a huge expanse of open fields and plains with grasses that fluttered and drifted in the breeze that; thanks to several large fans mounted on the wall of the city, perpetually blew through the entire landscape. Vehicles were not permitted in this district so shortly after arriving Jack and Finnick had been forced to get out and continue their search on foot. Following the trails and paths that lead through the district Jack kept his eyes peeled, looking for any sign of their missing fox. Occasionally they would pass someone going in the opposite direction and Jack would stop to question them. But it was always in vain, no one had seen a red fox acting strangely, around. 

"Damn it Wilde where the hell are you!"

Finnick's roar of anger echoed back as above them dark clouds began to gather and roll in. "Fuck, a storm is building up."

Finnick groaned and swiped angrily at some of the nearby grasses. "Nick always did love his dramatics."

Nodding in agreement Jack spoke, mostly to distract himself from the growing feeling of worry that was settling in his stomach. "S-so… how did you and Nick meet?"

The small desert fox looked at him before shrugging. "He was running a shell game in the park for tourists. I stopped to watch and liked what I saw. Spoke with him afterwards and decided he'd be a good partner."

Jack raised an eyebrow at the fox's use of the word. "Business partner or…"

Finnick glared at him. "yeah BUSINESS only. I like females."

Jack shrugged. "I know guys who like females too."

Finnick growled. "I like females ONLY. So don't get any funny ideas about how to thank me."

Jack shrugged again, his eyes scanning the large expanse of softly waving grasses. Taking another breath he asked the question he'd been thinking about for the last hour. "Was he into drugs before or after he met you?"

In Front of him Jack watched as Finnick's hackles bristled. "Don't you try to pin this on me rabbit. Nick was hitting that stuff way before he met me. I always figured you're the one who got him hooked, a way to keep him coming back to you."

This time it was Jack who growled in anger. "WHAT? I would never do that!" 

Finnick rolled his eyes. "Oh please. You and he would stay up for hours dancing and fucking and clubbing and then he'd show up the next day like it was nothing, you expect me to believe you never once took a little pick-me-up?"

Jack stamped his foot in anger. "WE NEVER DID DRUGS! I mean we drank, yeah. But never did pills. I'm not dumb enough to do that shit. With my metabolism? A single pill would send me to Mars!"

Finnick fixed him with a stern glare for a few moments. "If I find out you're lying… " he let the threat hang.

Jack met his gaze. "I'm not. We didn't need drugs to enjoy being with each other. We were more than enough."

After several seconds Jack snorted. "Don't go getting all sappy on my, this ain't a Hallmark movie." 

Nodding in agreement Jack turned his attention back to their search. 

 

\----------

 

Fields folly was unlike any other place in the city. Unlike other areas that was used for residence or businesses the land of fields folly was completely open. a six and a half square mile plot of land that was open for the public to use. When their were concerts the city would set them up here, the same with festivals or fairs. And when the species day celebration happened every five years it seemed like the entire city would pack into this relatively small plot of land. As she stood on the neatly trimmed grass Judy felt as if the area might as well have been as big as the entire world. Above her dark angry clouds have started to roll in, even as she jogged down the paths that crisscrossed the grass her nose twitched, the smell of coming rain making her move a little faster. 

"NICK?! Nick WILDE!? NICK?!"

She ran through the fields calling his name, hoping beyond hope that he would magically spring up from the ground with his usual goofy grin and a sarcastic comment. She wanted that more than anything in the world right then and there. She broke into a full blown run, the sound of the approaching storm pushing her to move faster as she continued to call for him. ' _ Where are you Nick?!'  _ the smell of raining was growing stronger and with a cold jolt she felt the first few splatters of rain his the top of her head. ' _ DAMN IT!'  _ The few drops of rain soon grew, becoming a steady flow and then a torrent, forcing Judy to stop her search and desperately search for some place to get out of the rain. As much as she wanted to keep running, if she did so she would get sick for sure, her lagomorph biology had always been susceptible to rain and becoming wet. Once when she'd been a child she'd stayed out late one night swimming. The next day she'd sprung a fever of 102 which had left her weak and bedridden for almost a full two weeks. 

Looking around Judy desperately searched for some kind of shelter to get out of the rain. Her eyes fell on a bridge off in the distance, not ideal but all there was. Sprinting towards the bridge Judy felt her feet slog and sink into the ground as the diet turned to mud from the rain. As she neared the bridge she found herself momentarily surprised to find it wasn't just a random bridge but one she actually knew; the same bridge she'd found Nick lounging by when she'd returned to Zootopia during the nighthowler case. ' _ Fitting I suppose. You were a horrible friend then, and you are still one now. _ ' her stomach twisted painfully at that, wanting to argue but knowing it was true. She had been horrible to Nick, saying what she had, storming off like that, not being honest with him. After everything they'd been through and everything they'd done for one another, she should have at least given him a chance to explain himself. She owed him that much at the very minimum. 

For the last 15 feet she stopped running, instead trudging sadly through the rain and mud before ducking under the stone bridge. She was completely soaked, his clothes so wet they were sticking to her fur. Using her paws, she did her best to try and squeeze some of the water out of her ears, before shaking to try and remove what she could from her clothes. It didn't seem to make much of a difference though, her clothes were still soaked and sticking to her like a second skin. She'd just been about to try again when a sound from deeper under the bridge made her jump. She fumbled for her pocket and her phone nervously flicking o  the flashlight mode before shining the beam of light down into the darkness. For a moment she found nothing, just empty space, dirt, garbage and a pile of rags that someone had thrown down here. But as he phone's light continued to shine around she found her eyes widened. "NICK!" 

The red fox looked horrible. His usually sleek and shiny fur was dull and matted, cakes with a combination of dirt, grime and debris. His normally pristine shirt and pants were dirty and torn. But as she looked him over she felt a small wave of relief wash through her. He didn't seem to be hurt at all. Just… very dirty. But as her gaze went to Nick's face Judy found that at the sound of her shout Nick had flinched and was now looking at her with an expression she'd never gotten before; fear. "Wh-wh-who are y-you?" Nick voice quivered in fear, his eyes staring fearfully at her. 

Judy felt her eyes widen at his words. ' _ He doesn't know who I am? _ ' taking a small step towards him she spoke softly. "It's me Nick. It's Judy. I-"

But she broke off as Nick let out a pained whine and started to gently rock back and forth where he sat in the dirt. "You have her face. No. No. No. No. Please don't hate me. I'm sorry. Please." She froze, watching as Nick continued to rock back and forth, tears filling his eyes before trickling down the sides of his face. 

"Ni.. Nick..."

She watched as he looked up at her. "She hates me. You have her face and she hates me. Please, I'm sorry." 

She'd never seen him like this. She'd seen him upset before, once or twice she'd even seen him cry. But… this… she'd never seen this. She'd never seen him like this. Quickly sending a message to Jack and Finnick Judy sent them the GPS location from her phone before turning her attention back to Nick who was still rocking back and forth crying. "Nick… Nick… can you look at me… please?" 

Nick continued to whimper loudly. "I'm sorry. Please don't hate me. I loved her."

Judy felt her heart clench painfully. Taking a chance she took a step towards Nick, when he didn't react she took another; slowly moving towards him until she was a few feet away. When she was within arms length Nick reacted, whimpering louder than before and pulling his knees against his chest. Stopping just slowly knelt down so she was level with the traumatized fox. "Nick… look at me." It took several impossibly painful long seconds but slowly Judy watched as an unfocused and confused green eyes appeared and looked at her. "Nick, I don't hate you."

Nick remained silent for several seconds. When he did speak his voice was ragged and cracked. "I… I co-couldn't help it… I… I loved… them both. I couldn't… I didn't mean for it… I loved them both."

Sighing softly Judy nodded. "I know… I know you did…"

Nick began to rock back and forth again. "She wa-was everything… my h-hero… an angel… I w-wanted… I want to… to… to be there… f-forever… with her… I w-wanted… to m-make… her p-proud." Judy again felt her heart clench. Was that how Nick really saw her? As an angel and hero? Under any other circumstances she might have swooned a little. What he was saying was certainly one of the nicest things anyone had ever said about her. "B-but… I… I lo-love h-him too. He… h-he knows s-so mu-much about me… th-thing no one else kn-knows." Tears began to flow faster down Nick's face as he looked at her. "I… I c-can't ch-choose. I ca-... I CAN'T!"

She reacted without thinking, her movement automatic; nearly instinctual. She closed the distance between her and Nick, pulling the distraught fox into a tight hug. For a few moments Nick tensed, his entire body going rigid and stiff for a heartbeat before seeming to crumbled against her and dissolving into hysterical sobbing. She did her best to comfort the upset fox, only pausing when the sound of car wheels reached her ears. Looking back down the way she'd come Judy watch as Finnick's van came to a stop with it's back end just under the bridge before the back doors opened and a Jack that was just as soaked as she was, appeared and rushed towards them. "NICK!"

in her arms Judy felt Nick tense against, his face burying itself in her next as he continued to cry  "I can't. I can't. I can't. I can't " 

' _ Its ok Nick. Everything will be ok. _ '

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is anyone else having troubles with the website?  
> It seems like logging in takes ages or sometimes just completely freezes.
> 
> Updating an error in the chapter took 15 minutes


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey folks  
> next chapter will come a little bit slower than the ones before.   
> im trying to focus one some of my other stories now.
> 
> Odd question: who here has the program VRchat?

It took Jack and Judy several minutes to coax Nick into Finnick's van. The trouble red fox seemed hesitant to trust them. When he'd seen Jack's face he'd begun to shut down again; whimpering and crying. only after Jack reassured the upset fox that he didn't hate him; did Nick agree to get into the open doors of the van. Shivering as she followed Nick into the back Judy blinked as Finnick spoke from the front. "Here." A moment later the small fox tossed a slightly worn towel to Judy before doing the same for Jack. "Dry off. Can't have either of you getting sick. I sure as shit ain't playin nurse to the three of you." 

Smiling weakly in thanks Judy ran the towel over her head and ears, soaking up as much of the water that still clung to her as she could. Next to her Jack did the same. As they did so Finnick spoke from the front of the van. "Damn it Nick. Why did you do it? You were clean. Five years pissed right down the drain. Why?"

Nick didn't respond, instead only whimpering as he continued to rock back and forth against the wall of the van. "Now what? Take him back to his place or..."

The sound of Finnick growling made Judy looked at him. "Like hell. He's not going back to his apartment till I've searched every inch of that place for more stashes. I'm not letting him do this again."

Finnick looked to Judy. "Could we take him to your place?"

She'd been about to answer when Jack spoke over her. "We can take him to mine." She turned to look at the striped rabbit who was looking at Nick with concern.

"Are you sure?"

Jack shrugged. "It's got more space than his or yours… put together. And we can keep an eye on him there. Plus you heard finnick, we can't take Nick back to his place until we know it's clear."

From where he sat on the floor Nick whimpered softly. "I w-want to go home."

Jack knelt down next to Nick who recoiled slightly. "Nick, your home isn't safe right now. Would it be ok if we took you to mine?"

Nick whimpered again, continuing to rock softly. "I'm sorry. I can't choose. I can't. I can't. I'm sorry. Please don't hate me. I'm sorry."

Jack felt his heart clench as painfully as the time gets been tortured with electric shocks. Biting his lip he looked to Judy who nodded. "I think that would be best. We can take turns looking after him."

Looking back to Nick, Jack forced himself to take a deep breath. He needed to do something, anything to help the fox. He was partially responsible for the state the fox was in now. It was the least he could do. Swallowing the lump in his throat Jack nodded before standing up and moving to the passenger seat in the front. A soft thump behind him made him turn, finding that Judy have moved and now sat beside Nick and was gently rubbing his back while the fox continued to cry and shake. 

 

\--------------

 

"YOU LIVE HERE?!" 

The tone of shock would have been comical if the situation had been anything else. Finnick's eyes looked like they were about to bug out of his head as the van came to a stop in front of  pristine looking building with white marble stone and green lush trees and shrubs lining the walkway.

Ignoring the small fox Jack turned back to look at Nick and Judy. Nick had stopped rocking back and forth, now he sat on the floor of the van oddly limp, his head having slipped sideways and now was resting against Judy's shoulder. For a moment Jack worried something bad had happened, but the slow rise and fall of Nick's chest alleviated that worry; he was just asleep. As he watched Judy reached over, gently shaking Nick's shoulder trying to wake the sleeping fox. "Nick… wake up." Nick didn't respond, not a single twitch flickering anywhere to show that he was even aware Judy was trying to wake him. 

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Jack felt a small smile flicker across his face. Nick _ was always a heavy sleeper _ '. "I don't think he's going to wake up anytime soon." 

Judy looked to him before looking back to Nick. "Y-yeah. I guess you're right." 

From the driver's seat Finnick grumbled. "How are we gonna get him to your apartment?"

Judy and Jack turned to look at him. "Huh? What do you mean?" 

Finnick rolled his eyes. "I don't think we can just carry him ourselves. And I'm sure it would look super suspicious if we dragged an unconscious fox through the lobby of your apartment building."

Jack remained silent, formulating a plan. Finnick had a point. While several people who worked for the agency lived in the building there were plenty of others who didn't and would surely raise the alarm. "Wait here."

Before Finnick or Judy had a chance to ask questions Jack moved, pushing open the door to the van before dropping down and shutting the door behind him. 

 

\-------------

 

Judy watched as Jack left the van. She was curious what the grey and black rabbit was thinking, but for now she had to trust that he had a plan. Turning her attention back to the sleeping fox Judy looked him over. Now that he was no longer panicking or rocking back and forth she could see the state he was in more clearly, although some part of her wished she couldn't. Just as she'd noted before his fur was no longer lush and shiny but dull and course, a result of him not bathing or brushing his fur for the last few days. Not only that but with an uncomfortable lurch of her stomach she noted that Nick looked a bit thinner than he had the last time she'd seen him. ' _ Did he have anything to eat while he was out of it? _ ' Against her will her mind created a mental image of a high and onfused Nick digging through trash cans to find scraps of food. ' _ Oh Nick… _ '

"How is he?" 

The sound of Finnick's voice made her blink, looking to the small desert fox who had turned and was now watching her. Looking back to Nick Judy responded softly so as not to disturb the obviously exhausted fox. "He's ok. He fell asleep when we were passing through Middles Burge." It was true, she'd felt him slump sideways as they'd turned a corner, his head coming to rest against her shoulder for the rest of the trip. 

Finnick nodded, remaining silent for another moment before speaking. "Look Flopsy, I don't know everything that's happened. And frankly I don't want to know, it's none of my business. But… " Finnick's gaze drifted to Nick. "... I know Nick. The first time you and he…" Finnick looked at her. "... He was so happy. And I aint saying he called me up to brag or boast but... I could tell you and he had... you know. He'd had feelings for you for a long time. But he didn't know if you did or even could feel the same way about him." Judy felt her heart flutter a bit at that. "What he did… he didn't do it on purpose. It's just… very rare for Nick to find people who care about him. So when he finds someone like that, he twists himself to try and keep them in his life. And in this case… I think the situation just got away from him. He would never do anything to hurt you like that, not on purpose. You mean way to much to him."

Judy bit her lip, trying to think of something to say in response. But she was saved when the doors to the back of the van opened. Blinking in surprise Judy found that a large muscular black jaguar was standing there, looking at them. After a few moments the jaguar spoke in a slightly raspy tone. "This him?" 

A familiar voice responded. "Yes. Be gentle, ok?"

The jaguar nodded and moved, ducking down so he was half crawling into the van which groaned slightly in response to his weight. Judy's eyes flickered go Jack who she could just see standing outside the van. "What's going on?"

Jack nodded towards the jaguar. "This is Munchas, one of the doormen for the building. He's a friend. " As he spoke Jack caught Judy's eye, silently passing the message that the jaguar was ok.

Nodding Judy shifted, allowing the many times larger than her Jaguar to gently pick Nick up before slowly backing out of the van and standing up. For a few moments Judy worried Nick might wake up from the movement, but her fears seemed to be unneeded as the unconscious fox again showed no signs of reacting to what was happening around him. Climbing down and out of the van Judy closed the doors behind her while Finnick moved around to join them as they followed Jack, Munchas and Nick into the building. As they stepped inside Judy's eyes widened at the gleaming and glittering white marble floors, the polished stone bricks and real plants that lined the lobby. It looked like something out of a movie or a magazine, some place that only the ultra rich could afford. Behind her Judy heard Finnick speak under his breath. "Holy shit."

In front of her Munchas and Jack turned down a hallway which after a dozen feet or so emerged into a small waiting area for the elevators. Practically no sooner Thad Jack thumbed the call button than a set of elevator doors dinged open. Piling into the elevator Judy looked up and sideways at Munchas. "How is he?"

Munchas looked down at her. "Still asleep. Don't think he'll be waking anytime soon."

Judy bit her lip but nodded, swallowing a small sigh of relief as the doors closed and the elevator began to lift them up through the building. For several minutes their small group stood in total silence, each of them no doubt caught up in their own thoughts. After an excruciatingly painful five minutes the elevator came to a stop, it's doors dinging open and allowing them to step out into a hallway lined with lush soft brown carpet. Jack took the lead here, guiding their little group to the right and past several doors before coming to a stop at an all black door with a brass number 17 on it. For a few moments their group paused, waiting for Jack to unlock the door before continuing inside and-

"Jack… I think you were robbed!" 

For a split second Jack went into agent mode; his paws balling into fists to ready himself for any kind of an attack that might be coming. His eyes scanned his apartment searching for whoever had broken in. A foreign agent who had followed him, maybe an agent from a rival agency, or perhaps even an assassin already aiming a gun at his head ready to carry out some unknown enemy's orders. Or maybe…

But he relaxed as his eyes found no intruder, no shadowy figure shrouded in darkness or masked assassin. Instead his eyes fell on the broken and shattered glass from when he'd smashed the photos he'd hung on the wall, from several days ago. "No. I haven't, it's ok."

He could feel the groups eyes on him, but for the moment he ignored then; they had bigger things to worry about. Reaching out he turned the lights on, Illuminating the apartment. Stepping aside Jack allowed Munchas to carefully make his way down the hallway and into the living room. "Where do you want him?"

Looking to Judy Jack spoke. "Put him on the couch for now. We'll figure the rest out later."

Munchas nodded, making his way to the couch before laying the sleeping fox down. Following behind the large black jaguar Jack watched as Munchas turned to look at him. "Will you be ok?"

Nodding Jack did his best to smile at his colleague from the agency. He knew that question. To anyone else it sounded like a simple question, but it was more than that. It was a secret question, if he said "We'll be fine." Then it indicated that he needed Munchas to leave and get help, that something was wrong and he was in some kind of danger. Taking another breath Jack responded, the phrase that would tell Munchas that everything truly was ok. "Yeah. We're ok. Thanks." 

For a few moments Munchas's eyes flickered to Judy and Finnick before nodding. "Alright then." 

"Munchas..." The large jaguar stopped, turning to look at him from the entrance to the hallway. "Thanks for the help."

Munchas nodded, offering the smallest of smiles before responding. "your welcome. If you need anything else, let me know."

A moment later he was gone, the door closing behind him; leaving the four of them alone. For a few moments there was silence between the three of them, broken as Nick let out a soft groan but didn't wake or stir from his sleep. 

"Wh-what now?" Judy's voice shook slightly with uncertainty as she looked from the still unconscious Nick to Jack and Finnick who shifted to look back at her.

It was Finnick who answered first. "You should come with me back to Nick's place. He'll need some clothes for when he wakes up. Unless you wanna deal with him being naked and strung out."

Judy again looked to Nick before nodded. "O-ok. Good idea."

From next to the couch Jack looked to the small fox. "Any idea what we can expect from Nick? Like…" Jack's gaze flickered back to the sleeping fox. "do we need to cuff him to the radiator or...?"

Finnick looked at the sleeping fox for a few seconds in silence before shaking his head. "No, I don't think you'll need to go that far. Nick isn't the type of mammal to get violent, so I don't think you'll have to worry about that. I think more than anything he's going to be mentally fragile. He just spent who knows how long high out of his mind and living on the street after his world shattered. I think more than anything he's just going to need to know that you both don't hate him."

Jack felt his insides squirm with guilt at Finnick's words. "Y-yeah." From where she stood by the hallway Judy nodded too, her gaze on her partner and best friend.

 

\-----------

 

It took her a little over an hour to catch a ride with Finnick back to Nick's apartment, get a suitcase filled with some clothes for him to wear, leave finnick to tear apart the apartment looking for more stashes and catch the train back to where Jack lived. It took so long info act that by the time she was knocking on Jack's painted black door the sun outside was almost gone, it's last rays casting angry orange and red beams across the sky as it vanished from sight. When Jack opened the door Judy found the white and black rabbit holding a dustpan and broom, clearly in the middle of cleaning up the hallway of smashed and shattered glass. "So… what happened?"

As she spoke she gestured to the broken glass, making her way inside so Jack could close the door. "I… didn't handle the news… well."

"Oh…" an awkward silence fell between them. Broken only after Judy had carefully made her way down the hallway with the suitcase of Nick's clothes behind her. "So… h-how is he?"

As she spoke Judy looked to Nick who again hadn't seemed to move since Munchas had laid him down, although Jack had laid a small blanket over him while she'd been away. Jack shrugged. "He's ok, I think. He seemed cold a little bit ago, so…  I covered him up."

Judy's attention turned back to the striped rabbit. "thank you. Nick hates it when he's cold."

She watched as Jack nodded  "y-yeah… I know." More awkward silence followed her words, making her shift uncomfortably as she tried to find something; anything to break it. "S-so… um… wh-where can I sleep?"

Jack frowned at her. "Huh?"

Judy blinked at him, unsure about his uncertainty. "Do you have a guest room or an office, some place I can stay while Nick recovers?"

Jack blinked at her for a moment. "Oh… oh you don't have to do that. I know you're busy. As a police officer I'm sure the city needs you. I can look after Nick while he recovers."

But Judy shook her head. "No, I'm staying until I know he's ok. He's my partner and my best friend. Besides I already called Bogo to tell him I needed time off."

Jack frowned at her, his expression flickering with… annoyance? "It's not like I can't take care of him or anything, we'll be fine. You should go back to work."

Narrowing her eyes Judy felt her foot start to tap in anger. "No. I'm staying."

Jack mirrored her narrowed gaze. "Look I don't your help. I can-"

But the striped rabbit's words broke off as from the couch Nick let out a soft whimper. Instantly both Judy and Jack's attention went to the fox, both of them turning to watch him as he stirred slightly. "So… sor… sorry..." A moment later Nick fell silent again, leaving them looking at him. 

"Come on." Reaching out Judy grabbed Jack by the wrist, pulling him away from the living room and back towards the kitchen where their words wouldn't disturb Nick. "Now look..." She let go of Jack's wrist and fixed him with a stern glare. "I'm not going anywhere. Not until I know that Nick is going to be ok. And there is nothing you can do or say to change that."

Jack looked at her for several seconds before sighing and nodding. "Alright."

Judy relaxed a bit, her eyes flickering to the living room where Nick was still passed out. "Maybe… maybe we should talk… just… to get things out there… get to know each other…"

Jack sighed again. "Yeah. Yeah I think that would be… good." Another few moments of silence followed, broken when Jack gestured to the door leading to the kitchen. "You want some coffee?" 

Nodding Judy followed Jack through the doorway, her eyes widening as she found herself standing in a nearly pristine kitchen with silver stainless steel appliances and dark marble counters with a white and blue tile backsplash. "H-how can you afford all this?"

A ways in front of her Jack looked around the room before shrugging. "Work pays for it mostly. I just do what they tell me too." Judy watched as Jack made up two cups of coffee, pausing only to ask her if she wanted any sugar or cream which she declined; before passing her the mug of warm caffeinated liquid. "S-so… uh… how did you and Nick… meet?" 

Taking a sip of the coffee to buy herself a little time Judy found the drink to be deep and rich, better than anything she'd ever had before. "Well..." and so she retold the story about her joining the ZPD, about her half bullying half tricking her way onto the missing mammal case and how that trail had led her to Nick. How they'd slowly worked to unravel the mystery and how she'd almost lost Nick forever with a few careless comments. And lastly how he'd saved her life, swapping out the nighthowler dart with a harmless blueberry before helping her to save the city. "And a few months later he joined the police academy and graduated top of his class. We've been partners ever since."

During the story the pair of them had moved, coming lean against a small island in the middle of the kitchen. In front of her Judy watched as Jack glanced in the direction of the living room before responding. "That's… quite the adventure. You're very lucky neither of you was badly hurt." 

Judy nodded, taking another sip of her coffee. "Yeah, I know. So… what about you? How did you and Nick meet? I mean… he said… before… that you met in a club… but…"

Judy's words trailed off into nothingness as Jack looked back to her. "How did we go from club friends to sleeping together?" 

Feeling her ears tingle with embarrassment Judy squirmed a little but nodded. "Y-yeah."

For several moments Jack was silent, the only sound from him the soft hum as he took a sip from his coffee. "Honestly… I'm not 100% sure. When we met for the first time it was just kinda… spontaneous, you know? I was dancing, he was cute… really cute. And we just kinda… clicked. But we didn't jump immediately into bed after that. We met up maybe… a dozen times or so after that? Sometimes we go dancing, or to a bar, or a movie or something. And then… then Zootopia held their annual pride parade and…" Jack's words drifted off as he remembered that day. It was probably the happiest day of his life. Seeing everyone happy and grinning, laughing and having a good time; it had been a rush and being there with Nick had been the icing on the cake. "During the day we were wandering the booths and the parade and having a blast, we got invited to a party and we spent hours drinking and dancing. And when it was time to go I was… fuck I was so out of it I could barely walk. But Nick said his place wasn't that far so we went there and slept it off. Woke up the next day nude and in his arms and… I kissed him when he woke up. After that…" he smiled weakly at her. "One thing just led to another."

Judy remained silent, nodding in understanding as she took another sip from her now less than half full cup of coffee. She had the 'how' now. In the back of her mind she took some small comfort in knowing that Nick and Jack hadn't just immediately jumped into bed together, but that still didn't make her feel much better. "Do you love him?"

Jack looked at her closely, remaining silent for several seconds. "You first."

Swallowing the lump in her throat Judy nodded. "Yes… I do." 

Across from her Jack sighed. "So do I."

Silence fell between them once more, both of them no doubt thinking the same thing.

  
' _ What are we going to do now? _ '


	10. Chapter 10

The inky black infinite void ebbed and flowed around him. How long had he been here for? It felt like days… or maybe weeks. Did it really matter? Did he have anything to look forward to when he did finally emerge from the dark haze that filled him? No, no he did not. He wished her could stay here forever, just floating through the darkness with hardly a care or thought in the world. But even as he thought this he felt the darkness shudder and quiver, beginning to fade and evaporate away before  finally breaking; allowing him to slowly look around. He wasn't outside anymore, he was in an apartment; a NICE apartment. For a moment he felt worry bubble up in his gut. How had he gotten here? Had he broken in? Nervously he moved, opening his mouth so he could call out and see if anyone was around. But whatever he'd been about to say ended before it began as his throat chose that moment to close up, sending him into a fit of coughing and gasping for air. His throat felt raw and horse, like he'd been eating sand or screaming at the top of his lungs for hours. Tears welled up in his eyes as he tried to breath, but only managed to make his coughing worse. Then a new sound reached, approaching footsteps and voices. Desperately he tried to clear his throat so he could explain himself, but no matter what he did his voice and throat refused to work, only sending him into another fit of coughing as the footsteps hot closer and closer until…

Fighting back tears Nick's eyes widened as Jack and Judy appeared, both rabbits rushing to his side. "Nick, you're awake." The worry in Judy's voice was obvious. 

Next to her Jack was carrying a bottle of water which the striped rabbit quickly opened and passed to Nick who grabbed at it with shaking paws and quickly brought it to his mouth. The cold water hitting his sore and aching throat was indescribable and possibly the most pleasurable feeling he'd ever experienced in his life. instantly the cool water soothed his dry, scratchy painful throat as he swallowed a mouthful, then another and another; rapidly draining the bottle in several gulps before groaning weakly. Next to him Judy spoke softly. "How do you feel?"

Taking a deep breath he looked at her, feeling shame well up in his stomach as he did so. She was looking at him with such an expression of worry, even after what he'd done. "I'm… I'm ok." His voice was barely louder than a whisper.

Jack continued to look at him cautiously. "Do you need more water?" The striped rabbit indicated the now bone dry bottle he'd been given.

In response he shook his head, his voice again barely louder than a whisper. "N-no." He watched as Judy looked to Jack who was still watching him. Squirming uncomfortably Nick grabbed at something, anything to break the silence that had fallen between them. "Wh-w-where am I?" 

Jack shrugged. "My place. We brought you here after we found you." 

Nick's ears flattened against his head. Jack's use of the words 'found you' told him all he needed to know. No doubt they'd found him on the street when he'd been high. And out of some kind of feelings of guilt they'd taken him in. Not because they'd wanted to but because they felt they had to. If it was possible his ears lay even flatter against his head. "Oh… I'm… I'm sorry. I'll… I'll go now..."

Turning so he could get up off the couch Nick tried to stand only to feel twin pairs of paws pushing him back down. Blinking in surprise Nick watched as both Jack and Judy pushed him back down onto the couch while shaking their heads. "Nickolas Piberius Wilde you are not going anywhere." Judy's tone was firm and adamant. "Not until you're recovered and we've had a chance to talk."

Looking at both rabbit Nick sighed softly. "What is there to talk about?" Again he tried to get up and again Jack and Judy pushed him back down. 

"Lay back down and rest." It was Jack speaking now, the male rabbit looking at him with worry. "We both know you're going to need your strength when the withdrawal starts to kick in. So rest now while you still can."

His stomach twisted and churned with guilt and shame. So they DID know. In front of him Judy spoke softly. "Nick… look at me." He didn't, instead his gaze fell to the floor. "Nick, look at me." He bit his lip, feeling as low as he had ever felt in his entire life. "NICkOLAS  PIBERIUS WILDE, LOOK AT ME." Judy's tone had changed now, becoming sharp and firm; a tone not unfamiliar to him when he was in trouble. But still he didn't look up. What was the point? He ruined his friendship with both of them. It was only out of pity that they'd brought him here. They'd both made it very clear they wanted nothing more to do with him. He should just go, do as they'd both asked and never bother them again. Moving to try and get to his feet a third time Nick blinked his head snapping up as he felt something cold and metallic slip around his wrist with a loud ratcheting click. For a few seconds he stared at the silver bracelet that had appeared around his wrist, and the silver chain that led from it and lift of sight, probably wrapped around the leg of the couch.

 "What the fuck?!" He glared at Judy who met his gaze defiantly. "You handcuffed me?!"

Judy nodded. "Yes. Since you keep trying to get away I handcuffed you. And you will stay that way until we talk things out."

Next to Judy Jack nodded in agreement. Nick continued to glare at both of them. "What is there to talk about? I already told you everything."

But Judy shook her head. "No Nick, you didn't. You never mentioned you used to have a drug problem. Not to me and not to Jack and sure as shit not to the ZPD."

Nick bit his lip. Ok, she had a point there. "Yeah well… they wouldn't have let me be a cop otherwise. So I lied."

Judy nodded. "Yeah you did. And now that lie has come back to bite you in the ass." Nick stared at her but didn't say anything. "You can't check into a rehab facility because they're required to notify the ZPD that they have a police officer as a patient. Bogo will take your badge for lying."

Nick huffed slightly. "Whatever, you said it yourself. I don't deserve the badge. Buffalo ass can have it." 

Silence followed his words as Judy's eyes widened. He could see the hurt in her purple orbs. But he didn't care. Why were they pretending? They'd made their feelings about him perfectly clear a week ago. Why were they pretending to care what happened to him? It was Jack who broke the silence, his tone soft and calm. "You don't mean that Nick."

His eyes narrowed as he turned to glare at the striped rabbit. "The hell I don't! He can have it. You know what that job has done for me? Made me work myself to bone getting shot at, beaten up, spit on and treated like garbage; and for what?! A city that still hates my guts because I'm a fox. Friends who only like the idea of me but don't actually know anything about me! A paycheck that's gone practically the day after I get it! And a partner…" his eyes returned to the still silent Judy who was staring at him. But his voice trailed off despite his anger. Try as he might he couldn't bring himself to say anything bad about the little grey bunny who had dragged him from the streets and saved his life. After several seconds he spoke, willing himself to remain calm. "Just let me go. I'll turn in my badge and you'll never see me again. Just like you wanted."

He watched as in front of him Judy took a deep shuddering breath, clearly struggling to keep her emotions in check. "Th-thats… that's not… what I want Nick." 

Nick huffed. "then what? What do you want from me Judith Lavender Hopps?"

He watched as her eyes widened as the use of her full name. For several seconds the apartment was dead silent, so much so that Nick found he could hear his heartbeat in his ears. Then after what felt like half an hour Judy spoke, her voice soft and low. "I want the fox I fell in love with to come back to me. I want him by my side on patrols and across from me when i'm at dinner. I want to laugh with him and cry with him and curl up in his arms after a long day of work. I want him to know… that I love him. That I would do anything for him. That I just want him back. Because… the things I said… I'm so sorry Nick. I… I… I was just… I was a dumb bunny." Tears had started to fall from her eyes as she spoke and for a moment Nick felt an all to painful sense of deja Vu. 

"Judy..." He needed her to understand. He needed to make her understand. To explain himself to her. After everything she had done for him, he owed her that much. "I wanted all of that. I… I still do. But..." His eyes turned to Jack. "But I'm not the fox you think I am. I love you Judy Hopps but… I also… love Jack. And… I can't… I can't just turn that off or walk away from it."

Judy sniffed loudly. "I… I know. Jack and I… we've been talking."

Nick raised an eyebrow, his eyes darting between the two rabbits. "You have?"

This time it was Jack who spoke, the striped rabbit nodding. "Yes, We have. And… we think… we might have a solution. But… it's not something to talk about when our emotions are running high like this. So we'll make you a deal. Stay here, get clean. We'll help you. And afterwards we'll tell you our plan. Ok?"

Taking a deep breath Nick weighed his options. He didn't really have any. Judy was right, if he didn't stay his career was basically over, as was his friendship (or whatever was left of it) with the two rabbits in front of him. At least if he stayed he'd be able to trust those looking after him. Sighing deeply Nick leaned back onto the couch. "Ok, I'll stay." 

Again Judy sniffed loudly, wiping her nose with her paw. "Th-thanks you." He watched as she shifted slightly. "So… wh-what happens now?"

Nick groaned. "Now you guys get to see a part of me I swore I'd never let anyone I care about me see."

Judy looked confused while Jack merely nodded. "How's it going to happen? What should we be ready for?"

Nick took a long deep breath, leaning back against the couch as his mind drifted back to the last time he'd gone through all this. "First… it'll be weakness. I'll be so tired I'll barely be able to move. You don't have to carry me or anything but… you'll need to pull and prod me to get me to move. Then… I'll start shaking. I might not be able to hold things. Last time someone had to feed me once or twice cause I couldn't hold the spoon." He paused here, looking at the two bunnies, searching for any sign that they might have been having second thoughts about taking care of him. When he found non he continued. "Then I'm gonna get… well… clingy. I'm gonna latch onto one… or maybe both of you. You'll need to stay close by me or I could start to panic. And… lastly… I'm gonna get emotional… like… really emotional. After that, it should be over."

His eyes flickered from Judy to Jack, again searching the bunny's faces for any sign that they might no longer be ok with him staying here to recover. "Ok, we can handle that." Jack's voice was calm and business like. "We'll take turns looking after you. There will be someone with you at all times. That way if something happens we can help, also so you can't slip away." Jack fixed him with a stern glare to which Nick nodded defeatedly. 

"Ok." He wasn't in a position to argue. He watched as Jack twisted, looking at a small electronic table clock next to a large tv. Glancing it that direction as well Nick found his eyes widening slightly as the glowing red numbers shown back at him 12:17am. After a few second Jack continued. "I'll take the first watch tonight. I've got some stuff to do on my laptop anyways. In the morning, Judy you should call your chief and come up with an excuse for Nick's absence. Try… a family emergency. Something involving Nick's mother. That usually gets people in a soft spot. If we do it right the chief and the ZPD will never know what's happened."

At Jack's words Nick raised an eyebrow. "You sound like this isn't the first time you've done something like this."

Jack remained silent for several seconds, and in a small moment of clarity Nick recognized the expression on the rabbit's face. That of trying to figure out how much to tell him in response to his words. After several seconds Jack nodded slowly. "It's not." But he offered nothing more than that. 

Next to Jack Judy continued to look at Nick. "Nick… will you really stay? You're not just trying to trick is?"

Sighing softly Nick shook his head. "No Judy. I'll stay." Gently he rattled the chain of the cuffs he was still wearing. "Don't really have a choice at this point unless you wanna unshackle me."

Before Judy could respond Jack shook his head. "Not till the first stage starts. It's a lot harder to run away when you're exhausted."

Judy looked to Jack who kept his gaze on Nick. After several moments of silence Judy spoke, her voice a bit unsure. "We-well… I guess… I'll see you in the morning."

Nick nodded. "Yeah."

 

\----------+----------

 

Laying on the couch Nick sighed softly. It was no use. He'd been laying here for over an hour and he wasn't even the least bit tired. At first it had been because of his arm. He was used to sleeping on his stomach, but Judy had cuffed his right arm to the couch, meaning the only way he could lay was on his back. For a while he's tried to let the mechanical clickity clack of Jack's laptop keys lull him to sleep, but that had failed when he'd found himself impressed by the speed in which Jack was working. The rabbit's typing was a blaze of speed, sounding more like machine gun fire than anything else. Vaguely Nick wondered what he was doing. Send emails, or maybe writing up some kind of top secret report, or perhaps hacking into some foreign computer system? Clearing his throat softly Nick listened as Jack's typing stopped abruptly. "Jack… can I ask you something?"

There was silence for several seconds, then; "What is it?"

Shifting on the couch Nick propped his head up with one of his paws. Across from him sitting in an armchair Jack was looking at him. His face and stripes partially illuminated by the soft glow coming from his laptop screen. "What do you want… out of this?"

Jack stared at him. "What do you mean?"

He nodded in the direction of the guest room Judy had gone to. "Well Judy is doing this cause I guess she still cares about me. But why are you doing this? Why are you helping me? Or even care about what happens to me for that matter?"

Jack remained silent for several seconds, then he let out a soft sigh and spoke. "Because… you're my friend Nick… and I don't have a lot of friends. And… because… I still care About you too."

Nick bit his lip. "Do you feel the same way as Judy?"

Again Jack sighed. "Yeah, I do. I love you Nick. I know it's hypocritical of me, especially since I said you and I couldn't be anything more than just friends with benefits because of my job but… I care about you as much more than just a friend."

Sighing Nick allowed his head to sink back down against the couch. For several long minutes he remained silent, mulling that over in his head. Before, he'd thought Judy and Jack's were both lost to him. That what he had done meant they wouldn't want anything to do with him ever again. Not that he could blame them. But now…

"Can I ask you something Nick?"

Shifting a little he nodded, looking back at Jack who was still watching him. "sure."

He watched as Jack shifted, closing the lid of his laptop before speaking softly. "Finnick said you've been clean for years. So… why… did you have that stuff in your closet?"

Taking a long deep breath Nick exhaled, feeling his nostrils flare as he did so. He'd asked himself that question a few times over the years. But so far he'd only ever come up with one answer. "It was a test. To know that they were right there, that I could have them whenever and if ever I wanted. But also to know that I could resist. That no matter what life threw at me I could say NO and not fall back down into how I used to be." Silence met his words, broken only by the sound of him laying his head back down against the couch cushions as he tried to get comfortable. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I should have. I just… I was… I was scared I'd lose you. That all you'd be able to see was some junkie and not… not me…"

More silence met his words. Sighing softly Nick closed his eyes and willed himself to go back to sleep. He knew his answer was bullshit, just some lame reason and excuse, but he'd hoped-

Then a new sound met his ears, the sound of movement and of feet moving across the floor before feeling a small paw on his chest. "J-Jack wha-"

But striped rabbit's silenced him with a soft word. "Hush." A few seconds later Nick felt the couch compress slightly as Jack squeezed onto the couch next to him. He bit his lip, enjoying the oddly warm paw on his chest. It was comforting somehow, much more than a paw on his chest usually was. In front of him Jack spoke softly. "Nick, I could never not see you. You're amazing." He looked at the striped rabbit, feeling the rabbits own gaze on him. 

"I'm… I'm sorry you're gonna have to see me like this."

Jack nodded. "Me too. But we'll get through it. All of us. Ok?"

Nick nodded slowly. "yeah… ok."


	11. Chapter 11

"Come on Nick. Wake up."

He groaned weakly, his eyelids feeling as if they had weights on them. He was exhausted. His entire body ached and tingled, wanting nothing more than to just lay here and sink down into the inky black of unconsciousness that had been beckoning to him for the last few hours. Oh how good it would feel to sink down into its seemingly endless depths and just sleep.

 Again he felt a paw gently shake his shoulder. "Nick, you need to wake up." 

He grunted softly, trying to pull away from the nagging touch and it's insistence on him waking up. He didn't want to wake up, he wanted to lie here and drift with the black void that shone and danced in front of his ey-

"WAKE UP."

a second later he jerked, the response automatic and involuntary as something cold and wet splashed onto his face. Gasping and spluttering his eyes snapped open, blinking furiously to try and keep them clear of the cold water that had been poured into his face. "I'm up."

Next to him Judy fixed him with a triumphant smirk. "Good. Now come on."

As she spoke Nick watched as she leaned over him, her paws going to his wrist which she uncuffed a moment later. Gently rubbing his finally free wrist Nick blinked at her. "Where are we…" 

His words trailed off as a wave of fatigue washed through him. Next to him Judy reached out and shook his shoulder again, her smirk becoming a grimace. "Hey, don't fall asleep yet. Come on."

He grunted, annoyed at the blurry grey blob in his rapidly unfocusing field of vision. Why wouldn't it let him just sleep. "Why?" Just speaking sent another wave of lethargy through him. Next to him the grey blob responded.

"Jack and I talked about it, and we think you should move to the bedroom for the rest of your recovery. It's bigger, softer and it'll be more comfortable for you."

At her words Nick groaned. "The bunnies…  want me in the bedroom… hehehehehe." He felt almost delirious. Next to him the grey blob changed, focusing for a moment into the form of his friend and partner Judy Hopps.

"Come on Nick." He felt her grip on his shoulder change, going for a jostling touch to a pulling touch that half pulled him from the couch. For a few seconds he tried to resist, but his resistance failed as he reluctantly found himself pulled to his feet and-

"Wh-whoa..."

He groaned and nearly fell over, his legs feeling like someone had tied heavy lead weights to them. His head spun as if he were in the clouds and even his tail was like a dead weight as it fell to the floor with a soft 'Thump'. He swayed where he stood, so much so that he felt Judy rush to his side to help support him. "Whoa Nick. It's ok, I'm here… come on… stand on your own." He groaned, struggling to support his own weight as his legs shook. Taking several deep breaths Nick grunted, willing himself to wake up. It took several minutes but he managed to make his legs stand still and stop trembling. 

"O-o-ok. I think… I'm ok."

Next to him he felt Judy shift, helping him to take a step forward, then another and another and another. Every step felt like a mile and sent another wave of fatigue through him that made him want nothing more than to slump to the floor in a pile and sleep. His body felt heavy, as if someone had stuffed his pockets full of rocks. And every so often his vision would unfocus and he'd have to stop until he managed to blink his vision back to normal. But he kept going, forcing himself to take each step until he was no longer in the living room and instead...

"Oh thank God."

He collapsed onto the bed in a heap, not even bothering to crawl into it and instead simply just falling forward. He groaned into the soft blankets, the warm mattress only amplifying his desire to close his eyes and…

 

\---------+---------

 

She couldn't help but smile as her partner let out a loud snore indicating he had fallen asleep again. Shaking her head she stepped forward, her paws going to his ankles which were still hanging off the mattress; pushing him so his whole body was laying down before covering him with a warm blanket. "Sleep well Nick. Deep healing sleep. Ok?" His only response was to let out a soft sleepy groan. Breathing a small sigh of relief Judy turned and left the bedroom, closing the door behind her so Nick wouldn't be disturbed by the sound of her moving around. It had been three days since she and Jack had found Nick and brought him to Jack's apartment. The first day had been uneventful, with Nick spending most of his day cuffed to the couch watching TV or trying to awkwardly eat with his left hand. They'd also worked out some of the finer details of his recovery, deciding that he could be trusted to shower and use the bathroom on his own. As Jack had suggested she'd called Bogo that morning and told the fuming buffalo that Nick had gotten an emergency call from the hospital about his mother having fallen in her home and severely injured her hip. She didn't have nearly the nack for making up stories that Nick did, so she'd been a surprise when Bogo's stern and immovable demeanor had softened. In the end Bogo had allowed Nick to use his unused PTO hours and had allowed her to do the same under the guise that she was house sitting for Nick while he was away. 

The second day had been a bit less normal. Both she and Jack had noticed Nick spacing out several times, his expression blank as he stared at the wall or the tv; very clearly not seeing it. When they'd question him about it he'd try to brush it off, but they could both hear the strain in the fox's voice. That night Nick had gone to bed early, the red fox falling asleep almost instantly after he closed his eyes. It had been out of character, the times she and he had spent together she'd come to know that Nick liked to stay up late, often times running their movie nights into the late hours of the night. Yesterday he'd gone to bed at 9pm. The look of concern on Jack's face had only confirmed what she was feeling, that Nick was about to enter the first stage of his withdrawals; exhaustion. Sure enough when she'd woken up and gone to take Jack's place and watch over Nick she'd found that he was still fast asleep despite it being almost 10am. The fox had barely moved at all today, her cajolling him to the bedroom the only real form of movement he'd done all day. Heading to the kitchen Judy poured herself a cup of coffee, admiring the advanced and shiney coffee maker Jack had.  _ To bad we can't get something like this at the precinct.  _ She watched as the lights on the maker flashed and shown, indicating water temperature, density of the coffee ground mixture and even the strength her coffee would be brewed at. Once everything was perfect she pushed the start button, watching intently as the machine hummed to life and began to brew her drink. 

Most rabbits avoided coffee, with their fast metabolisms the caffeine in coffee was usually a bit much for them. Similar to how other animals reacted to espresso. But she wasn't like most rabbits and had discovered early on that she had a higher tolerance for caffeine than others. The coffee maker dinged, indicating her cup of coffee was done. Taking the now steaming full mug Judy brought it to her lips, blowing on it for a moment before taking her first sip.  _ Wh-whoa.  _ The coffee was amazing, better than anything she'd had before. Certainly better than the stuff she drank at the precinct and even better than the expensive drinks she and Nick sometimes got on their patrol shifts. The flavors were warm and deep, sending a small shiver down her spine as she took another sip.  _ Definitely gotta get one of these.  _ She'd been about to take another sip when the sound of the front door opening made her ears peak, listening as Jack closed the door. A moment later the striped rabbit appeared in the archway to the kitchen, a plastic bag in both paws. "Breakfast is served." As he spoke he held out a bag emblazoned with a red rooster. Smiling she took the bag he'd indicated, setting it on the counter before opening it to find three wrapped burritos. Behind her Jack spoke. "I wasn't sure what you liked, so I got you an egg and veggie burrito."

She turned to nod at him. "That's perfect. What did you get?"

Jack shrugged. "The same. But I got Nick an egg and chicken burrito. It's the one marked with a C."

Turning to look Judy indeed found that one of the wraps had been marked with a letter C that had been paw written on with marker. "Bet that got you some strange looks when you ordered it."

Again Jack shrugged, setting down the other bag he was carrying before moving to pick up one of the burritos. "A bit, but nothing I haven't gotten before." Biting into his burrito Jack smiled as the flavors filled his mouth. He'd learned a long time ago to savor quiet little moments like this. He spent so much time in high stress situations where he was getting shot at or was seconds away from being captured. Little moments like these helped him to relax and stay focused.

Next to him Judy spoke. "Got any sriracha sauce?" Jack nodded, indicating a cupboard to her right which she opened and after a moment produced the bottle she'd been looking for. As she applied the sauce to her burrito she looked curiously at the second bag he'd brought in. "What's that?"

He swallowed the mouthful of food he'd been chewing, glancing at the bag before smiling sheepishly. "Picture frames. I… I figured I should replace the ones I smashed." 

Judy swallowed her own bite of food, her mind going back to the previous day when Jack had spent an hour to so sweeping up the broken shards of glass that had littered the hallway to the front door. Taking a bite of her burrito Judy hummed in approval as the flavors filled her mouth. The burrito was good, one of the better ones she'd eaten here in the city. "How is he?" Jack's voice was low and as he spoke he glanced in the direction of the bedroom. 

"He's ok. It was a bit of a struggle getting him in there though. I've never seen him like that. He could barely stand on his own, his was so tired. I've worked 20 hour shifts with him and seen him have more energy than this. It's like he's dead on his feet."

Jack remained silent, taking another bite out of his burrito. He'd expected that. "We'll let him sleep for now. It'll be for the best I think. Later tonight we'll bring him some food so he doesn't starve. But right now I think sleep is the best thing for him."

He watched as Judy also glanced towards the bedroom before returning his nod. "Y-yeah. Ok." 

The next few minutes passed in relative silence, both rabbits not know what to talk about, so instead opting to eat their burritos in silence. Jack finished first, crumpling the plain white wrapper of his burrito into a ball before playfully lobbing it into the sink. "He shoots he scores."

Judy rolled her eyes, finishing the last few bites of her burrito before folding her wrapper and setting it on the counter. As she did so, she watched as Jack picked up the bag of picture frames. "Uh… can..." Jack turned to look at her curiously. "Can I help?" As she spoke Judy gestured to the bag of frames. Jack's eyes widened, clearly surprised by the question. "I… I want to know more… about Nick… and you..."

Jack looked at her for several seconds. "You sure?"

She nodded. She'd been thinking about this a lot lately. She'd thought she'd known all there was about her partner. Butball of this had proved that wrong. There was an entire history to him that not only did she not know, but she had no idea even existed.  _ So much for being a master detective. _ She watched as Jack nodded in the direction of the living room before stepping out of the kitchen. Following him Judy watched as he set the bag of frames on the coffee table before moving away from her for a moment before returning with the stack of smashed and shattered frames from before. Setting them on the table as well Jack hopped up onto the couch and took a seat before patting the spot next to him. Taking the hint she joined him on the couch. Reaching forward Jack picked up the top most picture, holding it so she could see it.

In the photo a grinning Jack and a positively ecstatic looking Nick were both wearing swimsuits and were very clearly at some kind of water park. "That was our first real 'date'. We'd met up at the club a few times before then, we'd danced together and drank. But… that's the first time we met up outside of that." A smile spread across Jack's face. "He was so excited to ride this big slide, it was jet black and pitch dark with all these twists and turns before it throws you through this waterfall and out into the sunlight. Gods he was so excited for it. It was super cute."

Judy chuckled, imagining Nick so excited that he was squirming around and unable to stand still. After a moment she handed the photo to Jack, watching as he produced a simple frame from the bag before slipping the photo inside. He paused for a moment, looking at the photo and smiling before he set it down and picked up the next one. In this photo Jack and Nick were standing with some kind of backdrop of a graveyard behind them. Along the edges of the backdrop Judy could just make out a few lights and the forms of a few other people. The photo must have been taken during Halloween, that was the only way to casually explain why Jack was dressed in what appeared to be a slutty cheerleader costume while Nick has his arm around the rabbits waist while dressed as a football player. "Took that one at Halloween. The club was doing a costume party and half off drinks for anyone who wore something slutty. We danced for hours and got completely wasted. I'm still not 100% sure how we got home that night."

Judy felt a smile twitch the sides of her mouth. She'd had a few similar nights with Nick, although they'd used a uwuber to get home rather than driving or taking public transit. Handing the photo back to Jack Judy spoke softly. "How did you and Nick meet? I mean, I know you said you met at a club, but… how?"

Jack remained silent for several moments, putting the Halloween photo into its new frame before setting it down and looking at her. "Honestly… I'd noticed him around the club for a bit. He seemed nervous and skittish. Usually when guys act like that it's cause they want a quick suck and fuck or they're new to everything. Honestly…" Jack's ears dipped back a little. "I thought Nick was probably the first one. I figured he had some vixen girlfriend who was either a prude or not putting out and just wanted to get his rocks off. We made eye contact, I shimmied my hips a bit and we ended up dancing. But then… we started talking afterwards and… we just had this connection. I realized he wasn't looking for a hookup. He just wanted a friend. So… we became friends… and then… we slowly became more."

Judy nodded. "Before… you said you and Nick couldn't be more than fuck buddies. Why is that?"

Jack sighed. "My job. As I said before, I work for the private banking industry. The people and companies I work for are huge. They control billions of dollars and can be very demanding. If they call me in the middle of the night and tell me they want me on the other side of the planet to help them make a deal, I can't exactly say no." He paused, watching as Judy nodded but remained silent. "As you can imagine, that can put a strain on my relationships. It's hard to be with someone who you make plans with and then suddenly vanishes, leaving just a note that says 'got called in to work'. So a few years ago it just became easier to tell people I couldn't have a boyfriend, just a fuck buddy."

Again Judy nodded. As she did so Jack felt the fur on the back of his neck prickle slightly. He'd been around enough liers and con artists and other secret agents to know when someone didn't believe what he was saying. "But you broke your own rule."

Her voice was accusatory, just matter of fact. Taking a deep breath Jack nodded. "Yes, I did. I didn't mean to. But… I care about Nick. I'd find myself thinking about him while I was away. And the moment I found out I'd be coming back, he was always my first call. He never got mad when I had to rush away suddenly and he never asked me to stay or made me choose between him or my job. He was everything I told him he could be. And… that charmed me I guess. He became the most important person in my life…  because he was the ONLY person in my life."

 

\--------*-------

  
  


The rest of the day passed relatively quietly, with Judy helping Jack to replace the pictures frames before helping the striped rabbit to hang them back up along the wall. She knew he wasn't telling her the whole truth. Not that the striped rabbit was blatantly lying, but she'd been around enough criminals and scumbags to know when someone wasn't telling her the whole truth. But she remained silent, instead burying herself in catching up on the small mountain of emails that had built up over the last several weeks. For lunch they ordered in, a simple meal of Mcrhinos. As Jack took the bag from the delivery gazelle Judy looked to the bedroom where Nick was still asleep. "Should we… wake him up?"

Jack closed the door, turning to look in the same direction she was. "Yeah, we should. He's been passed out for the last," Jack checked his watch. "Nine hours or so. He should eat something. He'll need his strength to get through this."

Nodding Judy moved, heading towards the bedroom before pausing for a moment. Gently she knocked on the door, half hoping to hear Nick's voice call out for her to come in. That didn't happen though, her knocking was met with only silence. Biting her lip Judy turned the doorknob, slowly pushing the door open before sticking her head inside the dark room. Her night vision wasn't nearly as good as Nick's was, but she could still make out his form on the bed. He hadn't moved in the hours since she'd half carried him in here. His chest rose and fell with each breath and weakly he let out a soft groan in his sleep. Taking a deep breath Judy stepped into the room, allowing the door to remain cracked behind her so she could see as she made her way to the bed and Nick. Gently she touched his shoulder, noting that he didn't react to the touch before gently shaking him. "Nick?" He groaned weakly but didn't wake, one of his ears twitching in his sleep. Again she shook his shoulder, this time a bit harder. "Nick. Wake up." 

Slowly one of his green eyes opened, peering up at her unfocused for a moment. "Nnnna. Whas goin on?" His words slurred slightly with sleep.

She smiled warmly at him. "Jack and I got you- hey don't fall sleep again."

In front of him Nick's eye had become unfocused again, his eyelid drifting closed a second later. "Zleeeepy."

She shifted a little, gently petting the side of his face with her paw. She felt him shift under the touch, gently leaning into it. "I know Nick. I know you're tired. But you need to eat a little something. Jack and I got you a breakfast burrito earlier. Think you can have a few bites?"

After several seconds Nick's eye opened again. "Food?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Just a few bites and then you can go back to sleep. Ok?"

He groaned weakly, moving with a great deal of effort as he slowly sat up in bed. Shifting Judy grabbed his pillow, putting it between Nick's back and a headboard of the bed so Nick would have something more comfortable to lean back on. "I don't… don't think I… can... get… up… can you bring… me the food?"

She smiled and nodded. "Yeah. Do you promise not to fall asleep again while I'm gone?"

Nick blinked wearily at her. "No," came his soft but honest reply a moment later. 

Sighing softly Judy felt a small smile grace her mouth. Even if it wasn't the response she'd wanted, it did feel like some small sliver of the old Nick. "I'll be right back." Hurrying from the room she quickly grabbed the breakfast burrito that Jack had put in the fridge from that morning before quickly putting it in the microwave and heating it back up. As she watched the plate spin slowly she heard Jack's voice behind her. "How is he?"

She turned, finding the striped rabbit watching her from the entryway to the kitchen. "He's… tired. He doesn't think he can get out of bed. So I'm gonna bring him the food. Um…" she bit her lip, the thought occurring to her that Jack might not appreciate someone eating in his bed. "Is that… ok?" 

From the entry Jack nodded. "Yeah. It's fine." She watched as Jack shifted a little. "I think we should join him and all eat together."

She nodded, turning as the microwave beeped to signal that it was done reheating the food. Pulling the plate of food out Judy felt her nose wrinkle automatically as the smell of meat wafted over her. She ignored the smell, quickly grabbing a paper towel for Nick to use as a napkin before moving past Jack and heading back to the bedroom. As she stepped through the door she called out softly. "Dinner."

From where he sat on the bed Nick groaned again, slowly looking at her. "Hehehe room service." 

She rolled her eyes, again feeling herself smile a little as she brought the plate to Nick and set it gently on his lap. "Here. Jack and I are gonna join you. Ok?"

Nick didn't respond right away, instead his nose twitched as the smell of the warm food reached him. A moment later his stomach let out a loud rumbling gurgle. She watched as he reached out, his paws shook slightly as they gripped the wrapped food before bringing it slowly to his mouth so he could take a bite. Behind her a small noise made Judy turn, finding that Jack had joined them and was carrying two plates with his and her food on it. Nodding in appreciation she took the plate he handed her, moving so she could sit on the floor but lean against the bed as she ate. Jack followed suit, sitting with his back against the wall.

She knew they weren't out of the woods yet. Nick had told them about the stages of withdrawal he would have to go through before he got better. But right then and there, for at least that moment she felt as if things were almost normal. As if she wasn't helping to nurse Nick back to health but instead was just having dinner with her partner. 

_ Enjoy it while you can. He's got a long road ahead of him. _


	12. Chapter 12

The next few days passed with a kind of slowness to them. Nick was exhausted, so much so that he barely even had the energy to get up and go to the bathroom without help. Bathing was practically out of the question with both Jack and Judy being worried that Nick might fall asleep in the bath and drown, or else slip and hurt himself in the shower. For the most part Judy spent her time sitting and reading. In exploring Jack's apartment she'd found an office filled with several floor to ceiling bookshelves that housed a small library of books which she'd borrowed one at a time. The selection was impressive if she was being honest, the shelves were filled with books on biology, psychology, sociology, politics, history, culture and even religion. Every morning she'd go and pick a book and carry it into the bedroom where Nick slept and read quietly, pausing occasionally when Nick would stir. If the situation had been different she might have found it relaxing, but as it was reading was more of a distraction. A way for her to keep her mind busy while she waited for Nick to recover. It was slow going. For at least half the week Nick lay in bed looking more like a corpse than a mammal. Once or twice he'd stir or make a sound in his sleep but for the most part he lay completely motionless and almost silent, save for the soft hush he made as he drew breath. 

By Friday though he was showing signs of improvement. In the morning when Jack peeked in to see how Nick had slept, the fox was awake. Still laying down in bed, but awake. A little bit later that day as she read in the chair Nick sat up, grumbling weakly as he moved at a near Flash like speed, making his way to the bathroom before slowly coming back and collapsing onto the bed. And later that night he had enough energy (if only just) to shakily make his way out of the bedroom and into the dinning room to have dinner. 

"How are you feeling?" 

It was such a casual question, one she'd asked him and a million other people before and yet now it had a deeper meaning. She watched as next to her Nick shifted slowly to look at her. "I'm… a little better. Just… don't ask me to run the obstacle course at the academy… or I'll be dead… literally."

The joke made Judy relax a little, a small wave of relief washing through her. Across from her Jack looked at Nick. "Do you feel well enough to take a shower? It's been… almost a week."

Nick turned to look at the striped rabbit, a small smile covering his face. "Sa matter Jack? You said you liked my natural scent."

Jack chuckled in response. "I did and do. But… you're starting to smell a little… ripe. So a shower would do you some good. Also would give me a chance to change the sheets and blankets."

Nick nodded slowly. "Y-yeah, ok. I can… take one tomorrow if that's ok."

Jack nodded, his expression remaining serious. After a few moments he spoke ago. "Do you want help? Like… one of us there with you?" As he spoke Jack's eyes darted to Judy before going back to Nick who hadn't responded yet. 

After several seconds of thought Nick nodded sheepishly. "I think… I think that might be smart. I don't think I'll need you like… in the shower with me, but… if you could be nearby… that would be a big help. But… only if it's not a bother." As he said the last part his ears flattened against his head. 

Both rabbits responded at the same time. "It's no trouble at all." 

Slowly Nick looked between them, his expression unsure and hesitant. "I… Thanks." 

 

\--------*--------

 

The next day moved slowly for all of them. Nick slept in, his soft snores making both Jack and Judy feel a little bit better about his improving condition. Even so, it was almost one in the afternoon when the fox finally did wake, groaning softly as he turned and sat up in bed before rubbing his eyes and head. "Wha time is et?"

Jack chuckled, and closed his laptop. "About 1:30pm." 

He watched as again Nick groaned, looking around the darkened room. "S-sorry. I… I meant to get up sooner."

Jack shook his head, setting his laptop down on the small table next to the chair he'd been sitting in. "It's ok. Did you want something to eat?" Nick nodded slowly, moving so he could stand up hesitantly. "You gonna be ok? I can bring you something if you..." But Jack's voice trailed off as Nick shook his head. 

"N-no… I can do it." 

Falling silent Jack watched as Nick groaned again, pressing his paws against his eyes and face for several seconds before moving. Slowly getting to his feet Nick swayed slightly as he took a step forward, making his way to the kitchen and dining room at a pace that would have had Flash tapping his foot with impatience. Once Nick was at the table he did relent slightly with his need to be independent and allowed Jack to bring him a plate of toast. As Nick began to slowly eat he looked around. "Where's Judy," he asked between chewing.

Jack shrugged. "She had to run back to her apartment for a change of clothes. Said she only brought enough for the one week. She should be back soon."

Nick looked at him for a moment before nodding and taking another bite of toast. After several moments of chewing the red fox spoke softly. "Jack… I'm sorry…. about this."

Jack sighed softly, leaning back in his chair. "Sorry about what? About not telling me about this part of your past? Or about sleeping with Judy and not telling me? Or about hiding it all from me?"

In front of him Nick looked at the floor. "A-all of it. I didn't… I just…" 

Jack watched as Nick for several second turning over and over the question he wanted to badly to ask. "How?"

Nick raised an eyebrow. "How?"

Jack nodded slowly. "How did… this happen? How did you start doing drugs in the first place?"

Nick sighed, his shoulders slumping as his ears pressed against the top of his head. For several almost painfully long seconds there was silence. Part of him wanted to break it, to demand that Nick answer the question. But another part of him knew the expression now covering the fox's face, and he knew that if he broke the silence first he'd never get the answer he wanted. 

"Never let them see that they get to you." Nick's voice was low and tired. "That's been my motto since I was a kid. For as long as I can remember i've been pushing my feelings down and putting on the mask. And I got really good at it, REALLY good. Someone could call me a no good dirty rotten unworthy to be alive pelt and then spit on me and I wouldn't even react. I got so good at lying to other people. But… I wasn't so good at lying to myself. As much as I pretended… their words did get to me. After a few years… I barely saw me in the mirror when I looked. I just… I saw the mask, the lies, I saw what other people saw. And…" Jack remained silent as Nick took a long deep breath before continuing on. "I hate it. I hate myself." Nick looked at him. "Do you know what that's like? To wake up and truly HATE yourself? To want to claw your eyes out and break every bone in your body because everything about you is a lie and none of it is the real you?" Swallowing the hard lump that had sprung up in his throat Jack shook his head. He didn't know what that was like. But from the way Nick was describing it…

"Then one day I was walking home. I just finished fleecing some rich old sheep out like $300." He paused there, chuckling weakly at his unintentional pun. "Anyways, I was walking through the park and this weasle approached me. Said I looked like shit but that he had something that could help me feel like a million bucks." Again Nick laughed, this time coldly; so much so that it made the hairs on the back of Jack's neck prickle slightly. "And suddenly there it was, staring me in the face from inside a little plastic bottle the answer to all my problems. Either I'd get high as a kite and maybe actually like myself for a few hours. Or I'd OD and not have to worry about anything ever again. You bet your ass I took the drugs." Nick sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. "And it was amazing Jack. For the first time in years I didn't hate myself. I felt… good, happy. At least for a little while. And so I kept going back to get more." Nick's voice trailed off as he shifted a little. "That's how it happened. I just… I didn't want to hate myself anymore." 

Jack remained silent for several moments, digesting what he'd just learned. He'd never known that Nick had been suffering like that. Every Time he'd seen the fox he'd been smiling and laughing and having a good time. How had he missed something that was troubling Nick so much? How-

But his train of thought was cut off as the front door to the apartment opened. "It's me, I'm back." The sound of Judy's voice echoed from the entryway. 

Nick twisted in his chair to face the direction of Judy's voice, calling back a second later. "We're in the kitchen having breakfast." 

A moment later Judy appeared, pulling her suitcase behind her as she stood in the doorway looking at them. "You're awake. How are you feeling?"

Nick shrugged and took a bite of the toast still in front of him. "Yeah. I'm feeling… ok. Still really tired, but I don't feel like a corpse anymore."

Judy smiled at him. "Good. Still feel up for that shower?"

He shrugged. "I suppose."

Judy's smile grew. "Good, cause I can smell you from the doorway. Like a big sweaty canine."

Nick's face twisted into a grin. "Ma'am you wound me. I'll have you know my scent is masculine and very appealing to certain people."

Judy rolled her eyes and looked around dramatically. "Buuuuuuut are any of those people here?" Playfully Judy's gaze shifted to the other rabbit in the room. "Jack? Thoughts on Nick's smell?"

His training kicked in, allowing him to grin as he met Judy's gaze, even if he was still struggling with what Nick had told him. "SMELLY. The sooner the shower the better." 

Next to him Nick rolled his eyes and grabbed the last bit of toast, wolfing it down before letting out a, "HMPH" and moving to stand. It was here that the dramatics faltered slightly, Nick letting out an uncertain "wh-whoa"  and quickly sitting down a moment later, his paw gripping the table tightly. 

Instantly the joking mood around the table vanished and both Judy and Jack moved at the same time towards Nick. "are you ok?" 

In front of them Judy watched as Nick nodded slowly, taking a deep breath as he did so. "Y-yeah. Just… I got dizzy there for a moment."

Jack nodded. "You're still weak Nick. Take things slow, there's no rush. Ok?"

Nick shifted, looking at the striped rabbit before nodded slowly. "y-yeah. Ok."

Both Jack and Judy watched as again Nick got to his feet, this time slower than before. After several seconds the fox began to move, slowly taking one step, then another and another as he headed back towards the bedroom. Looking sideways and Judy Jack spoke. "Go with him, make sure he doesn't fall over or pass out. I'll change the blankets."

Nodding Judy moved, hurrying slightly to catch up with Nick and he stepped through the bedroom door before following a step or two behind as he moved into the bathroom. Pausing there Judy shifted nervously, watching as Nick sat down on the closed toilet seat. What should she do? If she stayed in the bathroom with him she could be of more use, also react faster if something were to happen to him. But he might not feel comfortable with her being there after everything that had happened? After several seconds of mental debate she decided to follow him inside, awkwardness be damned. If he needed help she wanted to be able to get to him as quickly as possible. Stepping into the bathroom Judy closed the door behind her, making Nick pause in the middle of pulling off his shirt. "Uh… carrots?"

She shifted her weight from one leg to the other. "G-go on Nick. I'll just be here on my phone." As she spoke she dug into her pocket and produced her smartphone.

Across from her Nick shifted a bit too. "Uh… o-ok."

Nevertheless Nick shifted, turning his back to her as he finished pulling off his shirt before beginning to remove his pants. Unable to resist, as the fox wiggled and moved his hips Judy made a sound similar to music that would be playing in a club. Over his shoulder Nick gave her a 'really?' look to which she smirked. 

"Had to be done at least once." 

She chuckled, trying to make Nick smile at the joke; usually it was the kind that would have Nick grinning before hitting her with some kind of witty comeback. That didn't happen this time though, although she did get a half hearted chuckle and a slight roll of his eyes.  _ Better than nothing I suppose. _

As Nick continued to strip Judy did her best to make herself comfortable, sitting on the floor with her back to the wall as she busied herself with her phone. Since they'd found Nick she'd been (understandably) neglecting most of her social media accounts. By now the little indicator next to her twitter icon showed 57. And next to her pawspace icon, 82. Insta-girafe, 43. Sighing to herself Judy scrolled through the postings she'd been missing. Unsurprisingly, most of them were from Clawhauser. Messages about gazelle and how amazing she was, critiques of her latest music and even a posting about her next tour, all of them posted next to the large cheetah's icon.  _ Geeze Clawhauser, if I didn't know any better I'd say you're some kind of crazy stalker.  _ She'd just cleared her twitter account when a sound made her look up, a soft "wh-whoa..."

Her eyes instantly found Nick leaning against the side of the shower, his forehead pressed against the glass while he took slow deliberate breaths. "You ok?" Her voice was low and a bit nervous. Was he going to throw up? 

From where he stood Nick didn't look at her, instead nodding his head against the glass. "I… y-yeah… just… dizzy… really dizzy." 

She moved, hurrying to his side, her paw going to his shoulder to try and help steady him. A moment later her eyes widened. Nick was shaking, and now that she was touching him she could feel each tremor ripple through his body. "Nick… you're-"

Nick growled, nodding his head against the shower door. "Y-yeah… stage two decided to come a little earlier than expected."

She bit her lip, remember what Nick had told them several days ago. Stage two of his withdraw would be him trembling and shaking on an almost constant basis. So much so that he made even struggle to eat or drink (although he'd tried to downplay that part) "Are you still ok to take a shower?"

She watched as Nick took several deep and deliberate breaths before again nodding. "y-yeah… I th-think so." As he spoke Nick moved, shakily opening the door to the shower before trying to step into it but there was no hiding the way his legs shook as he tried to move. Under his breath Judy heard Nick curse at himself. "Damn it, move your legs you damn fox."

Biting her lip Judy made up her mind. Turning she moved back to the door she'd closed, opening it and sticking her head out. In the bedroom Jack had already stripped off the sheets Nick had been sleeping on and had just thrown the first light sheet onto the bed. He looked up at her as the light from the bathroom got his attention. "Yes?"

"When you're done would you come in and help? Nick is starting to shake and needs help bathing."

She watched as a look of unmistakable concern flickered across Jack's face, the striped rabbit nodding a second later. "Of course."

Smiling Judy pulled her head back before closing the door again. "Judy?" Turning to look at Nick Judy found her partner was looking at her from over his shoulder, his paws still gripping the side of the shower for support. "What are..." Nick's words trailed off, his eyes going wide as she moved, her paws going to hem of her shirt before tugging it up and over her head before dropping it on the floor. Her bra and pants quickly followed her shirt, but as her paws moved to push down the plain black and white striped panties she wore Nick made a noise that made her pause and look up at him. He was staring at her wide eyed, his expression one of uncertainty and confusion. 

Despite what was happening Judy felt a small smirk spread across her face. "No need to be shy Nick. Not like we haven't seen each other naked or in th shower before." When Nick's expression didn't calm or relax she elaborated. "You can barely stand Nick. If I let you be alone in the shower you'll fall and crack your head open on the tile."

Nick spoke, his voice a little hoarse. "S-so… what you're gonna shower with me?" 

She nodded. "Yes, although this will be a true shower and not like the showers we used to take together." She watched as Nick swallowed tensely, clearly conflicted about what was happening. Taking a chance Judy lowered her voice a bit. "It's ok Nick. It's just a shower." In front of her Nick took a deep breath before nodding.

"O-ok."

Smiling she shifted, her paws going to her hips so she could-

"Ba ba BA Da DA."

The sound of Nick's voice made her roll her eyes, pausing long enough to give him a gesture with a specific finger before pushing her panties down her legs to the floor. Looking back up Judy found Nick was determinedly not looking at her but instead at the wall of the bathroom.  _ In a way I suppose it's kinda sweet. Him not openly staring I mean. _ It was true. She was used to getting more than a few open states when she was in the nude, even amongst the other female officers in the precinct she'd gotten a few sideways glances in the shower. She'd never taken offense to it though. She was good looking, slim and athletic with a nice modest sized chest and (as Clawhauser had once put it) a booty that was just right. Stepping forward towards Nick Judy reached out, again finding that her partner was shaking as she touched him. Her arm went around his hip, helping to steady him while she moved so he could drape his own arm across her shoulders. "Better?"

Nick nodded. "Y-yeah." As he spoke, Judy felt the unmistakable feeling of his tail twitching behind them.  _ Is he really this uncomfortable being around me now?  _ Moving was slow, with Nick sliding the glass door to the shower open before shakily taking a step inside. Stepping inside with him Judy couldn't help but note how Nick's paw instantly grabbed a handrail that stuck out from the wall. Holding it in a near death grip as they slowly maneuvered into position. "Did you want to stand or sit?"

"Sitting would be best I think."

Nodding Judy shifted, bending her knees so as to allow Nick to slowly lower himself down until he was in a kneeling position, before shifting and swinging his legs-

"Whao!" 

Suddenly Nick lost his balance, pitching sideways towards her; his head landing with a forceful but not painful 'thump' against her chest while her back thudded against the wall of the shower. For s few moments Judy found herself a little stunned, the feeling of Nick's warm fur against her chest making her bite her lip a little.  _ Calm down, you said this was just a shower. Don't get excited. _ Next to her Nick scrambled, pulling away almost frantically before looking at the floor. In a soft barely audible voice he whispered a soft "sorry."

Taking a deep breath Judy shook her head. "N-no… it's ok. It was an accident." It was odd, to be acting this way around him. She'd spent plenty of nights with him, in his arms. But now… things were different, awkward. As if all of their history has been erased or reset. She forced herself to take a breath, to ignore the tingling that had sprung up along the tips of her ears and instead focus on the task at hand. Moving past the still embarrassed Nick Judy busied herself with the shower controls. "Brace yourself." A moment later, water began to fall from above them. For a few seconds the water was cold, making Judy's fur bristle and puff up automatically but after several seconds it warmed. She spent a few moments more adjusting the dials, remembering what Nick had told her several months ago about liking warm, almost hot showers. Turning to look back at him Judy felt her spirits fall just a little. In the past she was sure Nick would have been staring at her rump, enjoying the view. Instead his face was still turned down, looking at the floor. Clearing her throat, partially to get rid of the lump that had risen in it Judy spoke softly. "Nick… is this an ok temperature?"

He nodded, mumbling a soft "Y-yeah." She watched as he moved, his paws again trembling as he reached out for a bottle of General Multi-species fur shampoo. Nick's face twisted with concentration as he moved, opening the bottle before squirting a bit of the shampoo into his other paw. As he moved to put the bottle back she stepped forward, holding out her own paw. He looked at her, his expression unsure.

"Give me some. I'll do you back. For reals." She added that last part as he raised an eyebrow at her and it clicked in her head that she'd said the same thing several times before but had ended up doing other things instead. Nevertheless Nick did as she asked, giving her her own dollop of shampoo before shifting slightly as she could slip past and around him. Working the shampoo into Nick's fur Judy couldn't help but notice how the texture had changed since the last time she'd touched it. Nick's fur had always been soft and silky, and had always smelled vaguely of citrus because of his fur wash. Now though his fur was coarse and rough and smelled only of sweat and musk. In front of her Nick worked on his head, working the shampoo into the fur along his ears and the top of his head. If she was being honest  there was a slightly awkward feeling between them; with neither of them talking and the only other sound being that of the shower. She finished working the shampoo through his upper back and had just begun to start on the lower part when the sound of the door slowly opening made her look up. In front of her Nick's ears moved too, flicking up and sideways for a moment before pressing against the top of his head. A moment later Jack's voice reached them.

"Uh… the bed is done. Is everything ok?"

Shifting Judy squeezed by Nick, sliding the shower door open a bit so she could stick her head out and speak. "Great. We could use your help though, Nick's starting to shake pretty bad."

Jack's eyes widened. "Is he ok?"

The time of concern was clear in the striped rabbit's tone. Smiling Judy nodded. "Yeah. He's ok. But he needs help bathing." At her words Judy watched as Jack's eyes flickered to Nick's half obscured and foggy form for a moment before looking back to her. "Ok." A moment later he moved, pulling his shirt up and over his head before starting to undo his belt and pants. As he moved Judy couldn't help but raise an eyebrow slightly. Jack was certainly… fit. Much more so than any of the bucks back in bunnyburrow.  _ Thank God for my suppressants or I'd jump him in a second.  _

Retreating back into the shower Judy turned, finding that Nick had shifted a bit and was now sitting half under the stream of water from the shower head. Moving to where she'd stood before Judy helped Nick, running her paws through his fur to help wash the soap away. "Th-thanks."

She nodded, smiling reassuringly down at him. "Your welcome." 

It felt odd in a way, as if she were somehow back home. When she'd been a teenager she'd helped her mom bathe some of her younger siblings in the large communal pools rabbits used. Once the soap was gone from Nick's fur she helped him to straighten up so he was no longer under the stream of water. As they did so the door to the shower opened and Jack's head appeared. "Room for another?"

"Uh...I… um..." The hesitation and uncertainty in Nick's voice was painfully clear. His ears pressed against his head and his tail twitched nervously. 

"Come on in. Why don't you help Nick with his arms." She felt Nick shift a little, looking back at her uncertainly. In front of them Jack smiled awkwardly before nodding and moving to join them. Despite the task at hand Judy again found herself watching the grey striped rabbit. He was fit… VERY fit. Hardly a single trace of fat anywhere on his body. His legs were long and muscular in a way that made her fairly certain that if she and he were to race she could run full speed and he'd still keep up with her. The odd stripe patterns that wrapped around his head and neck continued further down, wrapping around his back, ribs and hips; making him look almost like some kind of hybrid tiger. Against her will, her eyes drifted a little lower.  _ Where the hell was he when I was younger? Bet we could have had LOTS of fun together. _

"Well… here's somewhere I never thought I'd be."

The sound of Nick's voice pulled her from her inspection, making her blink and look at the fox. He was still looking at her out of the corner of his eyes and with a small jolt Judy noted a small twinkle in them that told her that Nick knew what she'd been doing. In front of them Jack paused, cocking his head in reaction to Nick's words. "What do you mean?"

Nick remained silent for a few moments, his rain twitching along the floor. "Well… here… with both of you. I never dreamed that it could happen."

Judy frowned. "So what…  you thought you'd just have to keep up separate forever?" She meant it as a joke, a casual way to try and alleviate some of the tension that had settled in on them.

"Yes."

His response startled her, making her eyes widen as she found he was no longer looking at her but instead had returned to looking at the floor. in front of them Jack sighed softly. "I suppose I can understand why you thought that. Probably trying to avoid something like all of this from happening."

At this Nick remained silent, only nodding dejectedly. Guilt squirmed inside Judy's stomach, feeling like some kind of horrible worm or parasite. She was still upset with Nick about everything that had happened. He'd kept so much hidden from her that she almost felt like she was meeting with him for the first time all over again. And yet… to see him now acting this way; scared, uncertain, afraid and sad. especially after some of the horrible things they'd seen as part of their job was startling.  _ And you caused a part of it.  _ Again her stomach twisted guiltily. To distract herself she got back to work, helping to work in more shampoo into the fur on one of Nick's arms while Jack did the other. As she worked she'd occasionally look at Nick, her heart clenching slightly as she found he was again avoiding her gaze. As she worked, she also noted the tremors in his arms; little twitches and spasms that made his arm jump and tremble even when she was holding onto it. This time Jack helped to rinse out the shampoo, allowing the now dirty suds to slip down the drain before turning back to Nick. 

"Do you need help with your tail?"

Nick shook his head. "N-no. I can do it."

Rolling her eyes Judy moved to begin working the shampoo into the fur on Nick's last appendage. "Come on Nick yo-"

But the words died in her throat as Nick jerked before she could even touch his tail, the now soaking wet limp pressing against his stomach as he looked at her. "No. I don't need help."

She stood there half frozen. She knew that foxes were very protective of their tails, almost as protective as rabbits were of their ears. In the past Nick had allowed her to touch his tail, even once showing her how to properly brush the dense yet soft and fluffy fur. Yet now… 

In front of them Jack spoke softly, clearly trying to diffuse the situation. "Why don't you trade places with Nick, Judy? That way he can work on his tail and you can get rid of the fur that's stuck to you?"

Biting her lip Judy opened her mouth to say…  something; but found that Nick was already moving. Forcing herself to close her mouth Judy nodded, stepping aside so Nick could move past her. (again avoiding her gaze) once Nick was positioned at the back of the shower and out of the spray of water she stepped forward, allowing the warm torrenting spray from the shower to douse her fur. As she did so she felt Jack move too, half joining her under the stream. "Slow steps. This is the first time he's been this close to us since all this happened."

Biting her lip she again remained silent and instead just nodded. Jack was right. Things had changed now. Nick wasn't the same anymore, just as she and Jack weren't. She allowed the hurt she'd felt to leave her, imagining it circling before slipping down the drain. It would take time to repair what they'd damaged, and all she could do now was wait.  _ One day at a time. _

 

\-----------+----------

 

The rest of the shower passed without trouble. While Nick washed and lathered his tail both she and Jack took turns under the torrent of water, working to first rid themselves of the red fur that clung to them as a result of helping Nick bathe before using the shampoo to clean themselves. When it came time for Nick to rinse both Jack and she actually stepped out of the shower, allowing Nick the whole space he could move and articulate the suddsed limp and rinse it with having to work around them. Getting out of the shower proved to be a bit trickier, with Nicks legs shaking so badly that he struggled for several seconds to regain his footing after they'd hauled him back to his feet. Still, with both of them on either side and helping to support his weight, they managed to maneuver him until he was sitting on the toilet before handing him a towel. As she turned to collect one for herself, Judy found Jack holding out a folded towel to her, a pleasant smile covering his face. Taking the offering Judy worked to dry her fur, watching out of the corner of her eye as Jack did the same. There was no denying it, the striped rabbit was attractive. Putting her clothes back on Judy watched as Nick did the same, managing to put on his boxers and a pair of sweatpants Jack had brought him. When it came to do the shirt though Nick groaned, pausing to lean against the vanity. 

"Are you ok?" 

Nick nodded. "Ye-yeah. Just… tired… really tired."

She looked to Jack who looked back at her while Nick finished putting on his clothes. Taking their positions again the pair of rabbits slowly helped Nick from the bathroom, guiding him back to the bed which was not covered in a clean pair of blue sheets. Moving so Nick could sit back on the bed Judy watched as the fox tipped backwards, coming to lay with his arms outstretched on either side of him. If the situation were different it might have been cute, looking as if he expected one or both of them to join him. Part of her wanted to, having missed the closeness she and he normally shared.

"Right or left?" The question made her blink, turning to look at her fellow rabbit in confusion. When she didn't respond Jack nodded at Nick and elaborated. "Which side do you want to sleep on, right or left?"

She looked back to the sleeping fox. "Uh… right I guess. But..."

Next to her Jack moved, crawling into the bed before rolling onto his side so he was facing Nick. After a few seconds he looked at her. "Go on. I know you want to."

Biting her lip Judy nodded, slowly taking the position Jack had too. Next to her Nicks chest slowly rose and fell, somehow he'd already managed to fall asleep. On the other side of his Nick's chest Judy watched as Jack spoke softly. "I think tomorrow you and I should talk. REALLY talk… about all of this. And… about what happens next. Ok?"

She nodded, a lump forming in her throat. "O-ok."


End file.
